WATCH! TCU Volleyball's Riley Buckley Discusses the Season Ahead
TCU Volleyball looks to build upon a successful 2022 season. Sophomore setter Riley Buckley discusses her expectations for the upcoming 2023 season.
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00:00 (indistinct)
00:02 - Yeah. Hey guys, my name's Riley Buckley.
00:05 I'm a sophomore setter here at TCU.
00:07 - Riley, tell us what you're looking forward to
00:10 as the season's about to start.
00:12 - Yeah, for sure.
00:13 I could not be more excited for this next season.
00:16 We have so much depth on our team and just so much talent.
00:21 So I'm excited for that,
00:22 but also just the off the court chemistry.
00:25 It's such a great group of girls
00:26 and we all are each other's best friends
00:28 and love spending time with each other off the court.
00:30 So that definitely helps with the on-court chemistry.
00:33 So yeah, I'm just excited to see how that all plays out.
00:36 And yeah, just excited for this pre-season too.
00:39 We got a tough schedule ahead,
00:41 which I think will set us up great
00:43 for the rest of the season.
00:44 - So last year you all got to experience some success
00:47 that the team hadn't seen in recent years.
00:49 - Yeah.
00:49 - How are you building upon that success
00:51 and where's that gonna take you this year?
00:53 - Yeah, for sure.
00:54 So I love everybody on our coaching staff
00:57 is so well-equipped just for training us obviously,
01:01 but also just from the mental standpoint,
01:03 I think it's definitely a mindset of like
01:06 that Mamba mentality or even just like Jason,
01:09 our coach refers to it as being dragons and not butterflies.
01:13 So like for instance, dragons are the storm,
01:16 decimate anything in front of them
01:17 or butterflies just kind of fly away.
01:20 So yeah, I think like taking that mindset onto the court
01:23 has definitely helped a lot with our success.
01:25 And I think we'll definitely play a huge role
01:28 in our success this year.
01:30 - So speaking of success, come November, end of the season,
01:35 what does this team have to have accomplished
01:37 for you to say it was successful?
01:39 - Yeah, no, I think that's a great question.
01:41 I would say, you know, looking at this year's conference
01:44 obviously has gotten a lot bigger.
01:46 So I would say finishing high in conference
01:48 would be phenomenal.
01:49 Also going to the tournament, it's just kind of a given,
01:52 like we're expected of the best
01:54 and just kind of speaking that into existence.
01:57 So yeah, I would just say like continually
01:59 like building relationships, building chemistry,
02:03 building like everything that has to do
02:05 with volleyball as well.
02:06 So I think that would be success.
02:08 - So as a sophomore, kind of speaking of that,
02:11 you kind of get a best of both worlds here.
02:13 - For sure.
02:14 - You get to face Texas only one time
02:16 and then you get to have a season next year,
02:18 - Right.
02:19 - Not Texas, but then you have even new teams coming in.
02:22 So talk about those new teams,
02:25 especially the ones coming in this year.
02:26 - Yes.
02:27 - What do you think of those four
02:28 and which one are you most looking forward to seeing?
02:31 - Yeah, no, I mean, we've got so much great talent
02:34 coming into the conference, which is so exciting.
02:36 I think it's only going to help build us as players.
02:39 And so, yeah, I'm super excited just to face them.
02:42 And I would say probably the team I'm most excited to play
02:46 entering into the conference would be BYU.
02:48 I do know a few girls in that team,
02:51 so excited just from like a relational standpoint
02:53 to play against them,
02:55 but also like there's such a well put together team.
02:58 So I'm excited, it'll make us better.
03:00 - So you start off with Minnesota, so.
03:03 - Right.
03:04 - What does that do for you?
03:06 - Yeah, yeah, so I love our preseason schedule
03:09 because I think it sets us up great
03:11 just for the rest of the season.
03:13 Minnesota's such a great team, great talent all around.
03:16 So I think, like I said,
03:17 it's only going to help propel us well
03:19 into the future of the rest of this conference
03:21 and the rest of the season.
03:23 So that's match number one.
03:26 - We're hearing a lot of buzz about this freshman class
03:29 and the new faces that are here on the team.
03:31 - Yeah.
03:32 - Talk to us about that group as a whole.
03:34 - Yes, yeah, our coaches have done a phenomenal job
03:38 recruiting great players, but also great people.
03:40 And I think it's super easy as freshmen to come in,
03:44 maybe timid or even just like not willing
03:46 to like kind of adapt to your environment,
03:48 but each and every one of those girls
03:50 is so special in their own way
03:51 and have just been like such a great addition to this team.
03:55 They have been just like a joy to be around.
03:58 I think also coming from, you know,
04:00 high school club, that level,
04:05 there's so much like joy and excitement
04:08 for like what your college season holds.
04:11 So I think I love how like their energy
04:13 that they're bringing to just like excitement, ready to go.
04:17 So yeah, I love them.
04:18 They're amazing people.
04:20 - So to put you on the spot,
04:23 give us one name from that group
04:26 that's the one that we should go,
04:28 we need to be paying attention to.
04:29 - Yeah.
04:31 I mean, it's hard to pinpoint one.
04:33 Off the top of my head, I would say Lydia.
04:37 Lydia is just super raw, has a lot of talent.
04:42 Her range for error is like insane.
04:44 I love setting her.
04:46 She's just a super feisty middle, just kind of like,
04:49 just in it.
04:51 I don't know, I love her energy.
04:52 Like it's perfect for a middle too.
04:54 And like, obviously that middle setter connection is huge.
04:58 So yeah, I'm excited about her.
05:00 - So last year, coach comes in and you brought Callie in.
05:04 She was like a once in a lifetime player for y'all.
05:09 What, how does the team replace her
05:12 and move on after what she did for the team?
05:14 - Yeah, for sure.
05:15 I mean, those are some huge shoes to fill.
05:17 So, I mean, just coming in,
05:19 like even being in the same position as her,
05:21 I'm just like, honestly coming in,
05:23 just being trusting of Jason, Kyle, and Morgan,
05:26 and Chyna, and everybody on staff
05:28 for just kind of the role that they have for me,
05:31 but also realizing like her role
05:33 will be different than mine.
05:34 And yeah, just honestly trying to carry on her legacy
05:37 of just like the phenomenal leader she was,
05:40 and then the ways that she ran the course,
05:41 so admirable and inspiring.
05:43 So really trying to take that on as well.
05:46 - So give us a prediction.
05:50 Where's the team end up in the end of the year?
05:51 - Prediction, top in the conference and national champs.
05:56 (laughs)
05:57 - There you go.