Dreaming of Athens

Lincoln -- Every day in the life of Nancy Metcalf begins with volleyball, and every day ends the same way.

Her first practice starts at 8:30 a.m. and wraps up four hours later. After a short break, there's another two-hour practice in the late afternoon, along with weights and conditioning in the early evening.

"Getting used to it physically has been a huge challenge for me," said Metcalf, who is generally considered one of the most physical players in Husker history. "But you do it knowing that there is a reason for it."

Less than two years removed from one of the most storied careers in Nebraska volleyball history, Metcalf is now a member of the U.S. Women's National Team. Since April of 2002, she has endured the grind of training day after day with the 2004 Olympics in the back of her mind.

Metcalf will travel with the team to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sept. 14-19 for the NORCECA Zone Championships. The tournament is the first step in qualifying for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The top two teams at the NORCECA advance to the FIVB World Cup in Japan Nov. 1-15. The top three teams in Japan will be among the 12 squads world-wide that compete in the Olympics.

Metcalf must perform well at the international tournaments, as well as in practice every day, in order to earn a spot on the Olympic team. The USA Women's coaching staff must trim the national team roster to 12 by July of 2004.

"The goal is to make the Olympic team," Metcalf said. "That is my focus right now. You have to take each goal separately. First, I need to make the Olympic team. Then I can worry about my position or my playing time, or whatever that next concern might be."

Mulling over playing time on the U.S. Olympic team sometimes seems surreal to Metcalf, a native of tiny Hull, Iowa, a town of 1,700. Former Nebraska Coach Terry Pettit first mentioned Metcalf's potential for an international career while recruiting her in 1996. Pettit said the Huskers could offer training to help her continue onto the national level, and Metcalf cites his promise as one of the reasons she committed to Nebraska.

"From that point, I always thought the option would be there," Metcalf said. "It was kind of on the backburner in college, because there were new and more immediate goals."

Metcalf led NU to the NCAA semifinals in 1998, averaging 4.81 kills per game and earned first-team AVCA All-America honors. After she increased her kills-per-game average to 5.09 in 1999 and was again named a first-team All-American, Metcalf took a semester off to train in Colorado Springs in hopes of earning a spot on the 2002 Sydney Olympics squad.

She was one of the final players cut.

"It was a shock to me when I wasn't chosen," Metcalf said. "I really did feel confident that I was going to make it. But it gave me good incentive to come back and figure out what I needed to do. At the time, it seemed like a little bit of everything. I needed to be a smarter hitter and have more shots. I need to improve my passing and defense. I had to improve my blocking."

Metcalf and newly hired Husker head coach John Cook had pre-determined that she would redshirt the 2000 season. The decision proved bittersweet. Metcalf watched from the sideline as the 2000 group of relatively unknown Huskers won 34 matches and capped an undefeated season by capturing the national championship.

But Cook believes Metcalf benefited greatly from her season away from competition, as she showed significant improvement in her passing, defense and mental approach to the game.

"One of the reasons Nancy didn't make it in 2000 was because she wasn't ready mentally," said Cook, who served as an assistant coach on the U.S. Men's National Team in the Seoul, Korea Olympics. "There is such a big difference between the college level and the international level. She realized that. We absolutely noticed a change in her approach to practice and training when she came back."

Metcalf's intensity in practice resulted in one of the best individual seasons ever by a Husker in 2001, when she led Nebraska to its eighth NCAA semifinal appearance. Metcalf again earned first-team AVCA All-America honors, becoming just the second three-time All-American in school history. She was named an NCAA Top Eight Award winner and was also the 2001 Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for volleyball.

After spending three months playing professionally in Puerto Rico, Metcalf was ready to make another run at the Olympics.

"Looking back, Coach Cook and Coach (Craig) Skinner really helped me," Metcalf said. "The Nebraska coaching staff really teaches you the skills and techniques you need to continue at the national level. It sounds basic, but you can't do anything without the basic skills, and that was so major at Nebraska."

Since returning to Colorado Springs, Metcalf has been a mainstay on the U.S. National team. She has competed in tournaments all over the world, traveling to Switzerland, Russia, Italy and Mexico in just the past three months.

"It's kind of funny," Metcalf joked. "People will ask me, ?So, how was Italy?' I'll say, ?Well, the hotel was nice, and the gym was great.' We don't see too much up close, but it's still a great experience."

In tournaments during the past year, USA Women's Coach Toshi Yoshiba has trained Metcalf on the left side, in addition to the right side, which she played at Nebraska. Cook sees Metcalf's versatility as a good sign, because he thinks just five outside hitters will be included on the Olympic roster.

"We're proud to hear from the national team coaches that Nancy is one of their model players," Cook said. "She has become a big-team attacker on the international level, and has impressed everyone with her work ethic and her discipline."

If Metcalf competes in the Olympics, she will become the third NU player to do so. A former Nebraska player has been the U.S. National team captain in each of the past three Olympics, including Allison Weston in 2000 and Lori Endicott in 1996 and 1992. All three players were originally from the Midwest.

"I think what these players have shown is that you don't have to be a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 recruit or play for a West Coast school to have a shot at the Olympics," Cook said. "If you have the work ethic and desire, you can accomplish tremendous things. It is a wonderful reflection of the type of people that are moving forward from Nebraska volleyball. We're certainly proud of that tradition."

­Metcalf is well aware of the tradition, adding that the encouragement she has received from Cook and everyone involved with Nebraska volleyball has been an important factor in her success. She is also grateful for the support given by her parents, Harry and Dee Meendering, and the rest of the residents of Hull.

And through it all, Metcalf's husband Jason has kept her grounded, she said.

"It makes the days a lot easier if you have someone to come back to at night," Metcalf said. "It's also important because it gives you something away from volleyball. Having Jason here reminds me that there is a world outside of volleyball, and life still goes on."

But for now, life is volleyball. Metcalf will be likely play in a professional league in either Russia or Puerto Rico after the U.S. National Team qualifies for the Olympics, or in December, which ever comes first. After that, it will be back to the rigors of training with the national team in hopes of capturing a roster spot.

"For me, being in the Olympics would be the ultimate finish to this thing I've been chasing," Metcalf said. "I've spent so much of my energy, my time, my emotion and my passion ... it has all gone into this one thing. I can't even imagine what it would be like to finally get there. It would be unreal