Volleyball Newcomer Q&A: Riley Fisbeck
9/25/2020 12:53:00 PM | Volleyball
Graduate Student - Setter - La Grange, Texas
On her start in volleyball
"My mom was a coach for middle school and high school, so I was always in the gym. I liked volleyball better than all the other sports I tried. I got started in club when I was nine and just kept playing after that. I played softball too, but then I picked volleyball over it as my main sport because I had more of a passion for it. I like the fast pace of it more than softball. I still did play softball in high school, but not club like I did for volleyball."
On the goal of playing in college
"I started to realize that I could play college volleyball when I received my first college letter in seventh grade. I knew I had potential but didn't really know how much potential. When I received more letters and invitations to camps, the goal became more realistic."
On her decision to play at Texas, growing up near Austin
"We were actually a Texas A&M household. Both of my parents and my grandpa went there so I grew up an Aggie. When I started looking at schools I wasn't really biased though, I was willing to go wherever. Texas started to reach out my junior year and then I committed to them."
On using her fifth year of eligibility after graduating from Texas
"I had to realize what I had in me still. It was either turning over and starting a career or using the fifth year to get a masters and keep playing. I put my name in the transfer portal just to see if anyone was interested and had a scholarship for a graduate student. I realized that I wasn't done playing volleyball yet and I still wanted to compete."
On the college selection process the second time around
"I was looking for somewhere with a genuine coaching staff that were interested in the success of the program and my well-being. Of course, the master's program was also important and the ability to still be admitted since it was kind of a quick turnaround. Both academics and athletics needed to be lined up."
On her first impressions of Alabama
"I got the email from Alabama and then talked with [assistant coach] Ladislav [Lelkes] and that went well. After that I talked with coach Lindsey [Devine] and we set up a time to come visit. The first impression on the visit was that the campus was beautiful. The coaching staff really was genuinely interested in our well-being here. They were all really nice. The academics really worked out well for my future career as well.
"It was really apparent that the opportunity here was great. I just had to do some soul-searching and ask myself if I had it in me to still compete at a high level. Once I knew that I could, I knew that Alabama would be a great fit for me."
On navigating the uncertainty of the season
"Personally, it was kind of tough and I think it's a different experience for us as opposed to the freshmen who have never been through this. It's about trusting that everything will work out the way it needs to. Everything happens for a reason. That's the mindset I'm going with every day. I just go into the gym every day thankful for the opportunity to even practice. Some teams aren't even able to do that, so being able to take advantage of that opportunity is huge. I'm just trying to enjoy every day with my teammates and the coaching staff."
On the NCAA's eligibility ruling and the SEC's hybrid fall/spring schedule
"It was definitely nice. Every day is an unknown but at least having a start date and knowing that they're doing everything they can for us to play in the fall was great to hear. Knowing that we have something to compete for and a specific date is a game-changer."
On adjusting to health and safety protocols at practice
"Wearing a mask during practice is difficult to get used to. Sweating in that isn't the greatest thing, but we know it's for the well-being of everyone else in the gym. It's something that we're going to have to do to play in the fall, so it just became the new normal. Everything is all just part of the routine now and we know it will pay off in the long run."
On her goals for the year
"We have to be leading in some of the stat categories in order to be successful as a team. If we compete together and have trust in each other, we can do that. We have to do the little things every day and if we do that, we can compete for the SEC Championship."
