A Chat With Senior Setter Melissa Courtney

The Ram Report: This is your final season at CSU. What is one thing you personally want to accomplish before season?s end?

Melissa Courtney: At first I wanted to have a winning season. That?s really all that mattered to me. The more I thought about it, the more I came to the conclusion my last year is not based off my win-loss record. I want to do well and accomplish all the goals that I set for myself, but I also want to have a good time and I want it to be memorable. I don?t want to base my whole career on one season. I am trying to look at my last season as my last four seasons instead of putting so much emphasis on just one year. I want to create tons of memories that I can take with me when I am done.

TRR: CSU gets an opportunity to play some very tough competition right out of the gate. How does CSU stack up to teams like Minnesota, USC and Georgia Tech this early in the season?

MC: I think that physically we can play with almost anyone. I think that USC will be a tough match for us, but I also think we have real positive things that we do that USC might not be used to. Our offense is really balanced, and we don?t have just one big hitter -- all of our hitters are great -- so I think in the long run that is really going to help us. It?s going to help our match-ups going into those games. I think all of us expect to beat Minnesota in that first round and give USC all that they're looking for. We have to play our game to beat both those teams.

TRR: What added responsibilities come with being the leader of a team that is defending five consecutive conference titles?

MC: I think my main responsibility as a setter and a leader is to give my hitters the confidence to know that they are great and awesome hitters when they are having a hard time. I have to be a motivator. I look at that as my biggest responsibility to the team.

TRR: After just a few practices, what do you think of the five incoming freshmen?

MC: I think the five incoming freshmen have a lot to add to this team. I think that Mekana (Barnes) responds really well to coaching, and she does what they ask. I think all five of them do that. Coaches tell them to do something, and without thinking about it, that?s what they do. They are also adding more bodies to the floor and pushing us really hard and giving us something to work hard at.

TRR: Is there an opponent on the schedule that you look at and say, "This is a game that could really define the season"?

MC: Colorado is always a defining game for us because it?s a rivalry game. But one that I think will really be defining is the Nebraska game. It?s so late in the season right before you go into the Mountain West and NCAA tournament. That?s when we need to be playing the best. That?s when playing those types of teams really matters.

TRR: CSU has had so much success on the volleyball court. What new things motivate this team?

MC: I think people are thinking, "Oh, they?re going win, they?re going to be so good, but can they repeat what they did last year?" What we did last year was pretty significant to the program, so a motivator for us could be doing what we did last year and more and not being satisfied with doing anything less. Also, this is it for a lot of us, so that is a motivator, too.

TRR: What does an off-season trip, like the Europe trip, do for team unity?

MC: I would have to say that we bonded more on that trip than in anything we could do here. I found out things about people that I didn?t even know, and I?ve played with them for three years. I think that that trip brought our whole team so much closer. It couldn?t have been at a more perfect time. No one can take that away from us. That was the ultimate team-bonding trip.

TRR: As your volleyball career comes to an end, what is one accomplishment or experience that sticks out above all the others?

MC: I would have to say when we beat New Mexico at home last year (to complete the undefeated conference season). Just being in front of all of our fans and being out on the court with all of my teammates was the most amazing feeling; I don?t even have a word to describe the way I felt. Just being there and experiencing that in Moby was pretty memorable for me. My other one was beating Utah in the Mountain West Conference Tournament; we were so tired because we played a five-game match the night before and all the odds were against us. We really came together as a team, and it was awesome when we won. We all celebrated together and went out to eat together, and it was really great to experience that with the group of girls I got to experience it with.

TRR: How do you want to be remembered?

MC: I want my teammates to remember me by my leadership, not by the awards I won. It?s a great honor to win those awards, but I think it?s more about the little things and the behind-the-scenes things. It?s the things I do for my teammates off the court, not so much on the court, that I want to be remembered for.

TRR: Thanks, Melissa.

MC: Thank you.

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