"Volleyball 101" with Coach Branden Green and the Eagles of Enloe.

The Enloe girls volleyball team won the CAP7 title one year ago. VYPE stopped by an early season practice to talk with the players and their coach, Branden Green. First let's define a few things for the volleyball novices. With the rise of women's volleyball, these are some terms you would need to know when watching your next game. Passing: The term used for the first hit of three on a side.(Enloe's best: Gabby Gilbert) Setting: A maneuver in which a ball is purposely directed to a spiker; (Enloe's best: Elise Watson) Hitting: Any ball contacted that is sent over the net, excluding serve.(Enloe's best: Anna Moore) Serving Aces: A serve that hits the floor or causes the passer to misplay the ball such that no player can make a second contact. (Enloe's best: Andi Bedi) Digging: The act of retrieving an attacked ball; awarded when a player successfully passes a ball that has been attacked by the opponent; sometimes called an "up" as in "great up, dude!"(Enloe's best: Gabby Gilbert) Blocking: Awarded when a player thwarts an attack, deflecting the ball onto the opponent's court for a point. (Enloe's best: Anna Moore). Questions for Coach Green VYPE: Where is the biggest tournament in the area for volleyball and what do they call it? COACH: Very few teams play in tournaments because it is hard to fit into the season. With the state limiting how many games a week you can play, and conference games for us starting the second week of the season, it's hard to fit one in unless you play the first week of season. So I guess for us the biggest tournament for most teams is their conference tournament at the end of the year because if you win you get to go to the state playoffs. The state playoffs would be the most important tournament any team plays in. VYPE: What is your team's goal this season? COACH: I hope every team has a goal of winning a state championship every year. Other than that, it is to place in the top two of our conference and not lose a match in straight sets. Not losing in straight sets is an important goal to me. We've had it for the last two years and have yet to achieve it. If you win at least one set, you give yourself a chance to win, and that means a team didn't dominate you. VYPE: Your opinion on the overall talent in CAP7 for volleyball? COACH: I think as volleyball grows, the overall talent will grow in all conferences. I think this year we will be a very talented conference. Broughton has a few Division 1 prospects, and Katy Slay of Wakefield just played with the US National team this past summer. Every team you play has a great player on it and when we play them, we have to make sure we are aware where she is at all times. It's hard to tell outside the conference how well we are going to be compared with other conferences, because we only play four teams out of conference. It's hard to see other teams unless you play them in the state playoffs. I know the Tri-Eight always puts out extremely talented teams, and the PAC 6 has produced back-to-back state champions. I feel like we are very competitive with other conferences, but year-to-year it changes. VYPE: Expected "Team to beat" in 08? COACH: I think Broughton is going to be extremely good this year. They return a lot of players and Coach Tim Meserth does a great job making sure his team is fundamentally solid. We went from last to first last year so we have to watch out for everyone, bring our "A" game as much as possible and hope that puts us in a position to win the conference. VYPE: Do you think volleyball is picking up as a spectator sport on the high school level? COACH: I have only been coaching two years, so I don't know what it used to be like, but I do think volleyball is an exciting sport to watch. It is fast-paced, and long rallies last half a minute to a minute at the most. I think as the talent level of the girls, which to me seems to be increasing, gets better, the more people will come to watch. I also think if your team is successful, more people will want to come watch. People like to support winners. VYPE: How do colleges award scholarships in volleyball? Is the entire team on full ride or does it vary from college to college? COACH: I think it varies from college to college. Some teams are all on full scholarships and some offer half scholarships for some of their players. VYPE: Just like schools such as UNC and Duke set the standard for basketball recruits and schools like FSU, Michigan and others are the standards for football recruits, who sets that standard for volleyball? In other words, if this school is looking at you then you must be good? COACH: Penn State is the defending national champion and they have a storied history and a great coach. UCLA, USC, and Florida are some other storied programs that are traditional powers in college volleyball. VYPE: Coach, who's your team "Bruce Banner?" Meaning, you would never know she plays that hard on the court after talking to her off the court? COACH: Andi Bedi VYPE: Who's the team prankster or class clown? Every team has one. COACH: You mean the girl who brought the vampire teeth to practice? That's Gabby! VYPE: If you've never been to a high school volleyball game, you need to check it out this year. You won't be disappointed. These athletes work hard, and it shows through their flying spikes, in-your-face blocks, and displays of great athleticism. We'll be there!