Athlete of the Week: Kristi Rhead – Volleyball

This past Friday, the Hopkins volleyball team’s six-game win streak came to a screeching halt with a 3-1 loss against the Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets. It would take just one day, however, to reinvent their momentum as Hopkins came to dominate both matches against the Ursinus Collge Bears and Manhattanville College Valiants on Saturday.

Winning both matches three games to none, the Blue Jays saw tremendous performances from a variety of players: Freshmen Louisa Kishton led the team in kills against Manhattanville while senior Ally Hirsch and junior Elizabeth Wuerstle both had standout performances versus Ursinus with nine and eight kills, respectively. On defense, sophomore Esther Hong controlled the back of the court with 13 digs in the match.

Though all of these performances are certainly worthy, this week The News-Letter has selected junior Kristi Rhead as our Athlete of the Week. A former Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll honoree, Rhead’s performance in all three games this past weekend accentuated her strengths on the court.

Rhead’s season high 43 assists in the match versus Randolph-Macon certainly kept the Jays competitive throughout the Hopkins loss. Meanwhile, her 33 assists and four blocks in the match against Ursinus coupled with 29 assists and six service aces in the match against Randolph-Macon were instrumental to the two Hopkins victories this weekend.

Following her exceptional weekend, Rhead sat down with The News-Letter to discuss how the team felt following their games, and what this weekend means going forward.

The News-Letter: With 43 assists in the match against Randolph-Macon you not only achieved a personal high, but also garnered the most assists in a four-set match for any individual this season. How did you achieve such an impressive feat?

Kristi Rhead: It felt great to get the opportunity to trust my training as setter and play that role when my team needed me this weekend. I have played a multitude of positions this season and in my career, so it always feels good to be able to adapt to be the best I can be in the position where my team needs me most at a given time.

N-L: After Friday’s loss, how did the team mentally prepare for the two games you had the next day? Were there any elements of the team’s game you were hoping to improve upon for Saturday’s matches?

KR: Friday’s loss was a tough one. We really discovered some of our own weaknesses, including certain situations that make us tight. In Saturday’s matches, we were especially looking to work on really “going for it” even in situations when we felt nervous or tight. We were able to generate some of those situations and overcome them, so I really think we made some great progress this weekend in that aspect, along with improving some more technical parts of the game like our tempo, serving and attacking decisions.

N-L: How physically tiring is it to play three games in one weekend? Was the team feeling at all drained going into the third match against Manhattanville?

KR: It’s definitely tiring, but we were well prepared physically. As a team, we are dedicated to recovery so we used the rest of the weekend to get feeling fresh against and ready to play this upcoming week.

N-L: What are your personal goals for the remainder of the season?

KR: My personal goals are always to be the best I can be for my team and continually improve, especially my mental toughness and resiliency.

N-L: With underclassmen outnumbering the number of upperclassmen, including only one senior, how have you, and the junior class as a whole, filled in to take on an expanded leadership role?

KR: It’s been really fun and challenging to take more of a leadership role this year. I know that myself and the other upperclassmen are committed to making this season the best it can be and for that reason we are eager to help in anyway we can.

Ally Hirsch, our only senior, is an excellent example. I think because of her and our strong team dynamic our underclassmen really seem to understand the vision and even take on leadership roles themselves.

N-L: Next weekend the team will face three ranked opponents on the road. What is the team doing in preparation this week?

KR: We make an effort to treat our training the same that we treat our matches, always striving to improve. I anticipate each practice to be more intense and game-like than the one before it. We train against our managers from the men’s club team and our coaches, so we are always facing great competition in the practice gym.

I’m excited to get those reps during training this week and then get to execute them this weekend against some really great opponents. We have a ton of room to grow and everyone is excited to learn.

On Oct. 14 and 15 we will see if the intense preparation pays off when Rhead and the Jays take on No. 11 Juniata College, No. 3 Southwestern University and No. 13 Christopher Newport University.