Fresno State Athletics
Q&A with Bulldog volleyball senior Aleisha Coates
7/19/2016 10:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State volleyball senior outside hitter Aleisha Coates recently returned from a 12-day overseas trip with the Mountain West All-Star Team. GoBulldogs.com caught up with her as she returned to the United States to find out what her international experience was like.
Q: How did it feel to represent Fresno State and the Mountain West while playing internationally?
Coates: I feel truly honored and blessed to represent Fresno State and the Mountain West overseas.
Q: How did it feel to represent Fresno State and the Mountain West while playing internationally?
Coates: I feel truly honored and blessed to represent Fresno State and the Mountain West overseas.
Q: What countries did you visit and how long was the trip overall?
Coates: The trip was for 12 days and we visited four countries, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy.
Q: What was the biggest difference you noticed in the style of volleyball played overseas compared to the United States?
Coates: The volleyball played overseas in those countries was played at a very high caliber. This was most of those players jobs so scoring each point was difficult and you had to work for everything.
Q: How long did it take long for the team to jell together and have chemistry with one another?
Coates: It did not take our team long at all for us to get familiar with each other. I would say the second day was one of our best days overall and we seemed to click from the beginning.
Q: Was there an adjustment period getting used to a different set of coaches leading you?
Coates: I really enjoyed the coaching staff and they were very easy to adapt to.
Q: What was the newest experience you had in terms of being in a foreign country?
Coates: I would definitely say the newest experience we faced was the lack of water given to us at restaurants. In the U.S. you have full access to consistent refills whereas overseas you are given small cups to fill from a small pitcher left for the whole table. That was certainly a new experience.
Q: What was the biggest surprise you encountered about being in a foreign country?
Coates: I thought it was very surprising to see the vast number of churches and it was shocking to see how large they were made.
Q: What is the most important lesson you learned from this experience that you will look to bring back to Fresno and pass along to the Bulldogs this season?
Coates: I feel the thing I learned the most is simply doing your job on the court. Being on a team full of leaders and stars from other Mountain West programs, there is not a whole lot to say to each other, but it is more about doing.
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