Colorado State University Athletics
CSU volleyball team departs on European tour
5/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
May 23, 2008
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - The top competition is always what Head Coach Tom Hilbert of the CSU volleyball team looks for in every upcoming season.
Starting in 1997, Hilbert began taking his team to Europe to compete against teams on an international level.
This year, CSU returns to Europe for the first time since 2004 to play teams from four countries. They will travel to Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Switzerland.
"More than anything it's a team-bonding experience," Hilbert said. "They'll be challenged on and off the court. We won't be doing just the tourist type things, we're going to play volleyball and meet players from other countries."
Departing Sunday, the team will be in Europe a total of 11 days, with two days for travel added on. The first stop is Venice, Italy, where they will sightsee and practice in Pordenone.
The first match will be Tuesday in Venice. From there the team will go off to the capital of Slovenia, to Ljubljana, for its match against the Slovenian Youth National Team. They will then play the Slovenian Junior National Team in Koper, Slovenia, before heading south to Pula, Croatia.
After one match against OTP Banka Pula in Croatia, CSU will travel back to Italy to play the Italian Youth National Team, which Hilbert said, "Will be one of the toughest matches; the Italians have an outstanding youth team."
Staying in the town of Settimo Torinese, right outside of Torino, where the 2006 Winter Olympics were held, the team will be able to compete at a very high level of play.
"It'll take them out of their comfort zone," Hilbert said. "The team bonding is the best advantage. We get to play a high level of competition on the seat of our pants. More than anything, we get to cultivate our team relationships," said Hilbert.
On June 4, the team will head to Montreux, Switzerland, for its final match, against the Swiss National team and to watch the rest of the Montreux tournament. The team will then travel back to the United States on June 6.
Seven players will go that have never been overseas, and the whole team will have almost two weeks of new experiences.
Four countries and seven matches will help solidify this team, which in 2008 will be defending the Mountain West regular-season crown, and will be hosting one of the four NCAA regionals.
The team is hoping this trip will be good preparation for one of the most anticipated CSU volleyball seasons this fall.
"It keeps everybody excited. It helps us get a little more prepared," said Hilbert.
For more information on the trip, check out the Rams' new volleyball site, http://www.ramvolleyball.colostate.edu/
