Huskers Eager for Far East Excursion

Lincoln - The Nebraska volleyball team wraps up two weeks of preparation today, as the Huskers embark on a 16-day tour of Japan and China. Just five months after producing a 33-2 season that ended with an NCAA runner-up finish in San Antonio, the team will leave Lincoln for the Far East Wednesday.

Three members of the team, two-year starter Tracy Stalls, as well as freshman middle blocker Kori Kooper and redshirt freshman setter Rachel Holloway, lead the team as returnees to the Far East. Stalls spent a semester in Japan following her senior year of high school, while both Cooper and Holloway played in China this past summer as part of the USA Youth National Team.

In addition to the role the Huskers will play on the court as athletes, Stalls remains excited the opportunity to return to Japan and see China for the first time, as this trip will include her teammates.

“I’m stoked about the whole trip,” Stalls said. “I’ve never been to China, and I’m excited about going back to Japan. When I went to Japan it was by myself, and even though it was amazing, it’s going to be so different getting to go with all my teammates. Last time was a very personal experience, but now I get to share it with everyone and talk about it with all of them.”

In addition to the training the team will gain on the court, Stalls focused on the opportunity to come together as a team that only presents itself in unique situations.

“Those two-and-a-half months I was there definitely changed my life spiritually, mentally and emotionally, all the way through,” Stalls said. “So I’m looking to experience that for the second time, and excited to experience it together as a team.

Just to see the different world that is Asia, it’s so completely different. I think it’s going to be a great challenge for us. To be able to embrace that challenge, we’re going to be stretched, but I think we’re really going to be better for it.”

As the squad prepares to be without All-Americans Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua for the first time in four years, Cooper, the newest member of the Huskers, represents the optimism that remains as the team develops their new identity.
 
“The styles of volleyball that we will face with regards to teams from China and Japan are going to present us with a challenge that we have never faced,” Cooper said. “They will give us a different style of volleyball, and it will just be a great way to broaden ourselves as a team and come together to face the challenge.”

In addition to the challenges on the court, Cooper is excited to experience the different cultures the team has been preparing for with lessons about the different cultures they will be facing, not to mention the Yoga and Tai Chi the team has been practicing following their normal training time on the court.
 
“I really am excited to see the different cultures,” Cooper said. “I’ve been lucky enough to go to China, but I’ve never been to Japan, and it’s just going to be such a unique and new experience for me, not only with the culture, but with this team.

“The last time we went we didn’t get to venture out and sightsee as much as this time, so that’s what I’m looking forward to the most, seeing different cultures and experiencing them as a team.”