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Friday, August 1, 2008
Four Days in the Life of: Chandler Carney, Lawrence North Volleyball
Central Indiana, IN
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Carney, a 6-foot-1 senior at LN, played in several tournaments over the summer with TNT, one of Indiana’s national AAU travel volleyball teams. Carney, who also models in her spare time, had 198 kills and 59 digs during the 2007 regular season, while earning an All-Conference (MIC) nomination for the Wildcats, who went 29-3 last season and won the Marion County Tournament, Brebeuf Invitational and won the MIC with a 7-0 conference record. VYPE asked Carney to keep a journal of her trip to Orlando for a tournament so that our readers could get a better idea of what the summer schedule is like for area volleyball players.
Day 1: Flew to Orlando and stayed with mom for a night, then off to Kissimmee, Fla. to stay in a cool house with my teammates (the house has seven bedrooms and a covered pool). My setter, Maddie Reese, and I chased baby lizards inside of the screened-in porch – one of them turned around and bit her (it was so funny!). We have assigned roommates, but we switch it up a bit, so girls migrate to where they are comfortable.
Day 2: Rise and shine (6:20 a.m.). I start the day with healthy food to aid in my shin splints – bananas are great for potassium – and add a bagel into the mix. We won our first match in three games. At the end of the day, most of the teams were tied, so we ended up in the Gold Bracket.
The team was starving after the games, so we headed back to the house and ate a ton of chicken. We relaxed by playing ping-pong (my teammate Kaleigh Rougraff and I had quite a game going). Watched “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Under The Tuscan Sun” with my teammates before heading off to bed.
Day 3: Early in the morning, right after officiating the first match, we had one ourselves, against Front Range, a travel team from Texas. Though we won, we only had a very short rest before facing Sky High. After winning that match as well, we were set to take on the prestigious Chicago Club, Sports Performance. Despite playing very well, we lost. The good news: we’re still in the Gold Bracket!
After dinner (and showers) we headed out for some fun – to a place called ‘The Fun Spot.” The team drove go-carts with our coaches, Rich and Michelle Coleman, and played neon putt-putt golf. I had fun on the go-karts, but they scare me. While it was really hot outside and we were a little spent from the earlier matches, it was a lot of fun and a great team-building activity.
By the time we finished that and dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse, we were beat. But before heading to bed, we had to play a few pranks on each other – like hiding our setter Aubrey Fink’s clothes up high on the ceiling lamps.
Day 4: First match of the day was at 8 a.m. We lost to Illini Elite, who were very good. Still, despite the loss, I didn’t feel too bad about the way we played. I just knew we had to press on and keep trying our best; we had to keep fighting. Next, we played the Munciana Cheetah’s. Munciana is a huge rival of ours (Team Indiana), so it was very exciting to play them. The parents for both teams were really cheering loud.
We were nervous and had some issues playing Munciana. Some had friends on the team, some just felt the added pressure of wanting to win. That might have been one of the reasons we lost. I was embarrassed to lose; I think if we stepped up our game, we could have won. The scores were close, but we could not seal the deal. I’ve come to realize that volleyball is a very emotional sport and sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to.
Final thoughts: We fell out of the Gold Bracket. It’s hard to let it go after three days. We ended up placing 11th. Not our best effort, as we have previously been first in Gold against all 18-year-olds, second in Gold, first in Silver...and so on.
After the National Tournament in Louisville, Ky., during the last weekend in June, our season will be complete. While there is a lot of pressure during the national season, you make a lot of friends and share some great memories – while traveling to some neat places all over the country. We’ve been to Las Vegas, Orlando, Louisville and Michigan. College coaches and recruiters often watch us; it’s great offseason training and I always feel better prepared for the season with Lawrence North afterwards. Time to get ready for the high school volleyball season! •
Side Bar
15 to watch this Fall
Lauren Rafdal, Brebeuf (Jr.)
A 6-foot-2 outside hitter, Rafdal tallied 404 kills and 306 digs to guide the Braves to the state finals last fall.
Christiana Gray, Cathedral (Sr.) A 6-5 middle blocker, Gray had 261 kills, 1.44 blocks per game, 108 digs and 44 aces last season.
Katie Griffin, Avon (Sr.) Griffin, who will play for Purdue next year, set the school career record for blocked shots as a freshman. In 2007, the 6-2 outside hitter had 445 kills, 56 blocks, 246 digs and 60 aces.
Hilary Eppink, Westfield (Sr.)
A Notre Dame commit, the 6-2 Eppink had 400 kills, 140 blocks and 79 digs in 2007.
Holly Wasmund, Avon (Sr.)
A 5-10 setter, Wasmund had 1,088 assists, 106 kills, 52 aces and 257 digs last fall.
Kelly Faris, Heritage Christian (Sr.) Faris, a UConn basketball commit, tallied 312 kills and 391 digs as a junior to led the Eagles to a sectional crown last fall.
Mary Ording, Cathedral (Sr.)
A 6-3 middle blocker, Ording had 219 kills and 128 blocks, leading the Irish to a sectional title in 2007.
Becca Reidy, Chatard (Jr.) As a sophomore, Reidy had 486 kills and 179 blocks last season.
Jenny Conley, Center Grove (Sr.) At left forward, Conley tallied 143 kills, 238 digs and 30 aces last season.
Alexis Waugh, Roncalli (Soph.)
A 5-10 setter, Waugh accounted for 916 assists and 71 blocks as a freshman for the Rebels.
Lindsay Spears, Perry Meridian (Jr.) Spears had 272 kills, a .430 hitting percentage and 141 blocks a season ago.
Ann Whited, Indiana Deaf (Sr.)
A 5-7 left forward, Whited tallied 220 kills and 143 aces (1.7 aces per game) in 2007.
Whitley Emerson, Speedway (Sr.) Playing on the back row and left forward, Emerson accounted for 339 kills, 40 aces and 325 digs last fall.
Maegan Callaway, Mooresville (Jr.) A back row staple, Callaway tallied 225 kills and 92 digs in 2007.
Maddie Reese, Park Tudor (Jr.)
A setter, Reese had 747 assists, 47 aces and 57 digs in 2007.
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