The Notre Dame College volleyball program has certainly turned a corner since the arrival of Travis Hinkle as the school's Head Coach. Hinkle, who was an assistant at both West Virginia Wesleyan, and West Liberty, and is a graduate of West Liberty prior to coming to the Falcons has made an impression from the outset. Hinkle was hired on April 4,2108. He is now in his third season as the Head Coach.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah DeGeorge talked about how Hinkle, and Graduate Assistant Hannah Watson have different coaching styles:
" Coach Hinkle and Coach Watson have very unique coaching styles that compliment each other so well. Travis is kind of the mastermind behind everything that goes on in our program. He knows the game so well , and he knows how to setup his team for success. Hannah (Watson) focuses more on technique, the mental game, and all the small aspects of the game that plays a role into being successful. I think that's why they work so well together,"DeGeorge mentioned. Travis focuses on the big picture, while Hannah encourages us to focus on the little things, and it eventually ties together. All three coaches have very good relationships with every player on the team. I could talk to any of them about anything and I always feel comfortable around them. It's very obvious that they all value relationships, which is crucial in building a championship program.
DeGeorge also talked about the addition of Assistant Coach Anthony Mezacapa:
"Coach Mez is the perfect addition to our coaching staff. He always expects the best of us at every practice, and he has so much knowledge about volleyball. He gets along great with the other two coaches, and he never fails to give the team a spark of energy when we need it.
DeGeorge has literally been around volleyball her whole life. Her mom (Becky DeGeorge) was coaching when she was born. But the first time that Sarah got her own jersey and was officially on a team was when she was five years old. She played for Club Ashtabula, which is a JO (Junior Olympic) Volleyball club in Ashtabula, Ohio. DeGeorge, talked about how volleyball has been in her life as long as she can remember:
"My mom played in college, and my older sister (Emily) has been playing since she was seven. Growing up I played basketball, soccer, travel softball, and volleyball. I really loved all of them and when I got to the age where I had to focus on one sport, I chose volleyball without a question. I think that's when I knew I wanted to play in college, because I was willing to dedicate all of my time to this one sport and leave behind all the other sports that I loved too.
DeGeorge talked about her childhood:
" I had a very active childhood. I was constantly participating in some kind of sport. If I was not playing sports I was outside playing with my neighbors or cousins. I think that was the best part of my childhood, just that I had a lot of people to interact with and I was very close with my school friends, neighbors, and all my family members. I had a great time growing up and I wouldn't change anything about it."
DeGeorge talked about how she chose NDC:
" I had never heard of NDC before I met Coach Hinkle. He was at one of my JO practices watching one of my teammates (Audrey Kostalec) and he noticed me playing on a different court. He approached me after practice and said he would like me to come visit the school. The recruiting process was very smooth. Travis stayed in contact with me from the day we met until the day I committed. Once I visited the school and saw the team play I knew that this is where I wanted to be."
Aside from her sister, Emily, who is 21, DeGeorge has a younger brother Joey, who is 14. Her mom, used to be a teacher, but now she is a volleyball coach at Jefferson High School where DeGeorge attended. She played volleyball at Edinboro and Lake Erie College. Her dad, Rick DeGeorge, is an accountant, and played basketball for Gannon.
DeGeorge talked about one trait she got from each of her parents:
" My mom and I are both really good with kids. I definitely got my selflessness from her. As for my dad, I got my personality and sense of humor from him. He also has the best dad jokes, that I unfortunately have inherited from him.
One of DeGeorge's other teammates, Mary Harris, has been an inspiration to many of her teammates this season:
" Mary has stepped up immensely this season. She has struggled with injuries for a lot of her career, but she is still one of the hardest workers on the court. Last year she was behind two very good setters (Laura Krupar and Paige Staudacher), so she didn't get the opportunity to play a lot. She is proving to her teammates, her coaches, and herself that she deserves to be on the court. All summer all Mary wanted to do was get in the gym. She was hungry to get better and play the game that she loves. I admire Mary's leadership on the court, and she is always one to help out her teammates. I think her presence on the court will make a big difference and her resiliency will be contagious."
DeGeorge told me her favorite memory of her volleyball career so far was the win against West Liberty at home last season. "We overcome adversity as a team, and every single person contributed to that win. West Liberty is a big competitor, and we were excited to get Coach Hinkle a win against the school he was at prior to Notre Dame. We had a great crowd that night, and the energy in the gym was indescribable. I would love to relive that moment with my team,"DeGeorge explained.
She told me the biggest difference between her High School (Jefferson High School-) and NDC on the court is the skill level. She explained that her high school did not have the most experienced players, but was still good enough to win the conference every year. She told me it's kind of backwards at NDC because her teammates are extremely talented, and she loves the fact that they push her and compete with each other to make her better. The competition she explained is a lot better than the teams she played in high school. "I love the challenge of working through a tough loss or coming back from a big lead."
"NDC volleyball has never won a conference championship, and I love working to be the best team in the conference,"DeGeorge said.
"We are the underdogs at NDC, and I love it. We play like we are the best every game, and we surprise a lot of teams. Off the court, not much is different. Jefferson is a small town where everybody knows everybody, NDC is the same way, it's a small school with a close family atmosphere, and I love being a part of a small, close knit community."
DeGeorge explained what it was like when she met a few of her teammates for the first time. Blaire Barr is a sophomore hitter, and outside specialist:
" I think I first met Blaire at a practice we had with the team our senior year of high school, but at the team neither of us had committed yet. I saw her at al All-Star Game our senior year of high school and we sat by each other at the dinner they had for us. I thought she was super nice, and I watched her play, and I knew we would play well together on the court."
Then she talked about meeting middle-blocker, right side Carli Derda for the first time:
" I first saw Carli at a lunch that the team had for recruits, but I didn't talk to her at all there though. I think the next time I met her was when we moved into our dorms. I noticed that she was super outgoing, and I could tell she was going to be a great friend to everyone."
Kylie Snyder is also a right side middle blocker, and she spoke of meeting her for the first time:
" I actually played volleyball at the same club as Kylie, so I have known her for a while. We always played against her team in practice, so I was very familiar with her playing style. That's why I was so excited when I found out she was going to NDC because I knew how good she was, and I was looking forward to getting to know her better."
Kaye Dregalla is also an outside hitter. DeGeorge spoke of meeting her:
" I also met Kaye at the practice with the team, and right off the bat I knew I was going to like her. I played against her a few times before going to college, and she always killed our team, so I was excited to finally be on the same side of the court as her."
Audrey Kostalec is a redshirt freshman outside hitter, and DeGeorge talked about how long they have known each other:
" I have known Audrey since she was 11 years old. Our teams always practiced together in JO. I can't remember our first encounter exactly, but we have always been around volleyball together."
When asked about the best part of her teammates at NDC, DeGeorge talked about the common goal they share, and how well everyone gets along:
" One thing I love about my teammates is we all share a common goal of being the best team in the conference, and getting to the MEC Championship. I think we have such a hard working team this season, and every single player is bought in. I also love the depth we have on our team, Every player is unique on and off the court, and it makes our team like no other."
She continued:
"On the court we all gel so well. We can play next to each other, and be so comfortable. I think the pandemic set us back from being close off the court. Most of the time we spent together earlier this season was at practice, and workouts, but we were focused mostly on volleyball and making connections on the court. In a normal season, we would have been traveling and staying in hotels all fall, which is where we get close to each other. I am not worried about the setbacks COVID-19 has caused because we have such a strong connection on the court, once we got the opportunity to spend more time with each other traveling (which didn't happen much this season,) we will click instantly.
"This group is very competitive, and everyone on the team puts up a tough fight. Whether it is in conditioning, practice, or lifting, we all push each other day in and day out. We all want to perform our best, and we all want to be the best team in the conference. I think the grit everyone has is second to none. In the classroom, I think everyone takes pride in their grades but we do have a team goal of earning an overall GPA of 3.5. None of us want to let our teammates down in that goal, so we work hard for each other to be the best we can be as a team."
DeGeorge told me that the team had the right mindset all season last year, and that is what made them successful. They had a lot of seniors that wanted to do big things in there last year with the program. When they came in as freshman, they could tell that all the upperclassmen meant business. They were going to work their buts off to have a memorable season. That mentality was contagious, and everyone was bought in. They had so much talent and the will to do whatever it took to win, and that made them very successful. The team also had four amazing captains (Mary Kate McHugh- Ali Kaeberlein- Riley Coleman- and- Katie Richardson) that contributed to a lot of success, and they helped make DeGeorge into the player that she is for this team, she told me. Not only the four captains, but a team full of leaders. Everybody up and down the roster stepped up and contributed their leadership to the team.
NDC has aspirations of being the best team in the conference, DeGeorge explained what she thinks it takes for that to happen:
" We have so much talent on our team this year, and we are a very competitive team. We all have very high Volleyball IQ's, which will give us a great advantage against other teams. I think we are all around a solid team, and we have what it takes to compete at the same level as Wheeling. We were at that level last year too, but we were missing confidence. I think this volleyball team has to have confidence in ourselves and our teammates that we are good enough to beat teams like Wheeling. If we play hard and play like we know we can, we are hard to beat. We have all the parts we need to be successful, it's just the mindset that we need to beat the top teams. That will develop in us for sure. Once we compete with the best teams, we will gain that confidence, and learn to just compete."
When talking about the toughest part of this season in the midst of a pandemic DeGeorge told me the toughest part was waiting so long just to have a season. The season being so much shorter than normal. "Everybody is here to compete, and it took a long time before we could do that (against other teams.") She did tell me that being able to practice, and train throughout the offseason was big, considering they are a very young team. They were able to communicate, work connections, and rebuild from what they lost last year. The toughest part being the uncertainty that follows because of the virus. :We just had to stay focused on preparing, and training during what was an unprecedented offseason.
"As for me personally, DeGeorge explained:
" Having a season in the spring instead of the fall is not that much different considering I only have one season to go off of, so it doesn't seem that weird playing in the spring instead of the fall. It hasn't really affected me personally. I am just thankful for the extra time I have to get better, faster, and stronger. It was weird playing a short season in the spring because we had to make sure we were ready to go right when the season started. We didn't have time to figure things out then start winning games halfway through the year. We all had to realize it was go time."
For DeGeorge, and the Falcons this shortened season has not gone as planned. With a 4-6 record heading into Tuesday's 7 PM Match with Fairmont State at Joe Rhetton Arena; This was Hinkle's message prior to the tournamentL
" Today we open the post season with a quarterfinal match at Fairmont State. First serve at 7 PM! Months of hard work, making sacrifices, pushing through a pandemic for this moment to compete. Let's do this NDC VB!,"Hinkle said. Catch the game live on MountainEast.TV
I'm ready, are you?
From left to right: Front row: Blaire Barr, Sarah DeGeorge, Mary Harris, Morgan Tenney (no longer with team)
Back row: Kylie Snyder, Audrey Kostalec, Carli Derda, and Kaye Dregalla
This was taken at the Make A Wish Walk this season!
Assistant Coach Anthony Mezacapa (Far left-) Head Coach Travis Hinkle (middle-) and- Graduate Assistant Hannah Watson (Far Right)
From left to right: Joey, Becky, Sarah, Emily, and Rick DeGeorge
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