A pair of area volleyball players learned about new cultures over the summer through the sport they play.
Teutopolis junior Emma Isley ventured to Spain with her club, EXACT All American, playing two matches along with five coaching sessions. Meanwhile, Dieterich junior Mariah Muhs traveled to Costa Rica, where she played in six tournament-style and two exhibition matches.
“I think I did well,” Isley said. “We played against a pro team in one of the matches and then a local team that was my age. I remember I ‘smoked’ a pro volleyball player with every single serve I had and blocked an outside and right side — they got really mad.”
Isley said she learned that volleyball is more than just a game during her time overseas.
“You have to be there for your teammates and yourself and make sure you’re mentally there,” Isley said. “I learned more about how I am as a person.”
Outside of playing, Isley had the opportunity to tour Spain and Madrid.
“It was an unbelievable experience,” Isley said.
What it also was, though, was a culture shock.
“It was so much different than America,” Isley said. “Everybody is involved with soccer — it’s their sport. The food was different, too.”
Isley added that there was no air conditioning or ice.
You had to pay for water, as well.
“You were lucky if you even had a fan,” she said.
But despite those challenges, the trip only furthered Isley’s love for the sport.
She is ready to take what she learned from her trip and apply that to a Lady Shoes team this season that has hopes of winning a regional championship.
“I think it’s going to be a very good season. We have tons of good players and I think it’s going to be a competitive year,” Isley said. “Everyone is working for a spot, which is going to push me to be better as a player and a teammate and push me to my limits.”
Muhs’ trip was somewhat similar — a culture shock, but a reward in itself.
“Everyone is really poor, so they make do with what they have,” she said. “The gyms they played in didn’t have any air conditioning, so it was a struggle. They also ride their bikes through the streets everywhere.”
The starting libero on the Movin Maroons, Muhs suited up for America’s Team Volleyball during her stay. The team finished second in the tournament’s silver bracket.
“I thought I did pretty well,” Muhs said. “There was one point where I got in my head about serve-receive because their serves are a lot different than ours are, but when I got out of my head, I did really well.”
Normally a very reserved individual, Muhs stepped out of her comfort zone on her trip.
“I learned that I definitely can get along with other people,” she said. “I think I communicated well about where I was going and where everyone else should be [on the court].”
Muhs played with several girls she didn’t know on the trip.
Her head coach coaches in college at William Penn University, located in Oskaloosa, Iowa.