Krista Pylant
Sports Editor
@KristaPylant8
What emotions are you experiencing knowing that this season is your last?
I’ve been really depressed about it. My last first day of two-a-days, I was really sad about it. I’ve been sad about it this whole time. I just don’t want to give it up because I have such a passion for volleyball, and I’ve always been that way. There have always been different girls on the team who have played for different reasons, but I just play because I love the game.
You have been at Cameron for four years. What are some of the changes you’ve seen through the years?
I feel like college made me more open. Like when I got here, I was really shy; I didn’t know anybody. I was coming from Texas – I hadn’t met any of the team. Now, I have tons of friends, and I’m actually going to miss it. I was really homesick my first two years when I was here. I always wanted to go home, and now I’m not homesick at all, and I miss it when I go home for break, so it’s going to be tough when I’m done and have to leave and leave all the friends I’ve made. I think it definitely changes you for the better. I feel like I’ve become a better player, too. My freshman year I got here and I started, but I was definitely not the best player that I could be. I feel like I improved a lot over the years. I had big shoes to fill a couple of the years, taking over some people’s places, but I feel like it turned out for the better.
What improvements did you see in yourself as a player?
I’ve always had a really hard work ethic. My high school coaches told me that was the best part about my game is that I work really, really hard. After my freshman year, I got a trainer, and I was working really hard to get to where I needed to be, as far as my vertical and getting stronger so I could hit harder. Then when Coach Qi [Wang] got here, he really helped with the ball control aspect of my game. We never really realized how important ball control was until he got here, and we saw how bad at it we were. Last offseason, Lici [McGee] helped a lot with my game, and Coach [Wang] helped a lot with my ball control, and I feel like now I’m not going to leave being disappointed with the kind of player I am because I have improved so much.
Who do you owe your success to?
My parents and my coaches that have helped me. I wouldn’t be the player I am today if it weren’t for some of my coaches before college because they did help me so much with my work ethic and my attitude. I used to get really upset with myself when I would make a mistake. They helped me realize that volleyball is a game of mistakes. You’re going to make one every once in a while, and once you do, you just have to shake it off and keep playing because if you don’t it’s detrimental.
Can you recall any standout moments of the season?
When we swept Kingsville – that was pretty cool. I couldn’t remember the last time we swept a team in conference, so that was a big deal. Then, when we beat Midwestern at home, that was awesome because we were in the same situation with Midwestern. We had to win the game to go to the tournament, and if we didn’t win the game, then we didn’t really have a chance. We were both in the same position. It was good because we actually wanted it really bad, and we wanted to go to the tournament. We played our hearts out, and that game was awesome. At the end of the game, I was kind of sad because the seniors on the team; they were all crying when they got done. I put it into perspective, like that could have been me, but it felt really good to beat them and get to go to the tournament.
When you look back on your career as a student-athlete, what do you hope to see you accomplished?
I think after this year, I won’t really have a whole lot of regrets because I went into it having so many goals for myself – like to have the conference leaderboard – and I’d never once been on it, so my goal this year was to get on it somewhere, and I’m on it in two places. That was a big goal for me going into the season, and I’m really happy with how I’ll be ending up. I feel like I’ve done my job as a player.