Player of the Pack: Hayley Dotseth

Junior Hayley Dotseth plays volleyball and is a pre-med student studying kinesiology.

Molly Schiermeyer: What was your favorite preseason tournament?

Hayley Dotseth: My favorite preseason tournament was Hawaii because not only did we show that we can hang with some of the best teams in the country, but we really got to experience a lot as a team while we were there. We toured some of the historic parts of the island and went to a luau as a team. We’re such a close knit team — it’s like traveling with your best friends while doing something we all love. Mehana Fonseca’s family (from Hawaii) showed us so much love and the true meaning (of) “ohana,” (Hawaiian for “family”) they became our second family during the trip.

MS: What all-tournament teams did you make? And how did you earn those honors?

HD: I made the Hawaii and the UNC (University of Northern Colorado) all-tournament teams. (Senior Brittany Jessen) works really hard to put up balls that we can succeed on. Our defense is also making huge strides to get our offense in system so we’re less predictable and harder to defend. I’ve been working to be a multi-faceted attacker and being able to buckle down and make plays on the defensive end, but volleyball is such a full team sport; one person’s success really mirrors that of the team.

MS: What are you most excited for during the conference season?

HD: We’ve learned so much through this tough preseason schedule, but we’re very excited to start back at 0-0 and use that knowledge to push us forward through conference play. We want to be playing our best volleyball by the end of the year and our goals are to win both the regular season and conference tournaments, but it’s important that we’re very focused on making small improvements to our game everyday and not getting caught up in the long run.

MS: What is the weirdest thing that has happened to you so far this season?

HD: I don’t know if it counts as weird because I’ve always been clumsy, but I have tripped, slipped and been tackled so many times so far this season. It has yet to affect a play but I just cannot seem to keep myself off the ground.