The Stanford Women’s volleyball team traveled to Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy with BIP this summer. As Stanford approaches the 2018 season ranked #1 in the AVCA preseason coaches poll, head volleyball coach Kevin Hambly reflects upon the purpose and impact of the trip.
“It was significant in several ways”, Hambly reflects, “first, it was exciting to get the freshmen involved. It’s a good step for them to get around the team and get integrated socially, but also volleyball-wise for team bonding in general. You always grow closer as a team when you travel. And to have this extended amount of time, it was great for the team to be around each other and grow closer.”
“The competition I thought was also very good”, explains Hambly, “it was nice to play without worrying about winning and losing on some level because we could play a lot of players that haven’t really gotten the chance to play a lot. We did two separate teams.”
For the players it was a trip of many first experiences. It was the first time traveling outside of the United States for some. For many it was the first time playing volleyball in Europe. Getting to see new countries, experience a variety of cultures and get exposed to a very different style of volleyball were all listed among the team’s highlights. Getting to play the national teams of each country was the experience of a lifetime.
Watch the full highlight video of Stanford Women’s Volleyball tour to Europe below.