Sam Manley & Her Side of the Net
04/11/2017 | Beach Volleyball
Sam Manley has had a great season on the court this year, which she attributes to a confidence she didn't have last season.
Sam Manley came to the University of Arizona in 2015 as a decorated athlete. The San Diego product had won competitions like Best of Beach in 2013, and played for the USA Junior National Beach Team. She knew she was talented, and she knew how to get a win.
But like transitioning to anywhere or anything new, it isn't always easy.
"I was used to playing on an actual beach," says Manley. "And there is swirly wind here, instead of the straight line kind of wind that comes off the ocean. Also, playing at a high school level and a college level are completely different. I had to get used to playing against girls who are taller and better. The ball is coming at such a faster pace on serve receive and defending hits."
The difference in courts and play made for a tough transition mentally for Manley at first.
While as a freshman she was slated in as the No. 3 pair for Arizona, which can be seen as strong vote of confidence from Coach Steve Walker, she found she was often nervous before matches, and focused on her opponent's game rather than her own.
"I was really nervous before every match, and I was worried about what the other team was going to do," says Manley. "I would think maybe they were taller, or maybe they were good at defense".
However, like all good athletes, Manley recognized a flaw in her approach to the game and made an adjustment. Going into her sophomore year she was determined to focus on her own game, and on what she could control.
"The biggest takeaway I have from freshman year to sophomore year is confidence," says Manley. "I realized what wins games is determined by what happens on our side of the net, and that we (herself and her partner Hailey Devlin) need to take care of our own passes, sets and hits."
With this new mentality Manley was primed and ready to take on her sophomore year season. Her goal being to win more matches this year than she had in her freshman season year.
She reached that goal this past weekend at the UCLA Invite, as she is now at 16 match wins this year. Manley has a chance improve her Freshman year record even more, as she still has more play to come against Stanford, Cal, and the entire Pac-12 tournament, where she will play against five different teams.
Coach Walker isn't too shocked by her improvement this year either. He sees the effort she puts in on a daily basis, and then watches it translate into the games.
"Sam is the type of player that is going to show improvement every year she's in the program, simply because she's so committed," says Walker. "She believes in what we're doing and gives nothing less than 100% of her herself every minute of practice. She's as committed as any player I've had in the program to date."
As for the team, their goal is to make it the National Championships, and then win the whole thing. While the team has had some stumbles this year, Manley knows it's not how you start, but how you finish.
"Our goal was to win the national championship," says Manley. "So far we haven't lived up to that, but we still have room. We still have the big Pac-12 tournament, and if we can win that, that'll put us in a good position to go to Nationals. In past seasons I feel like Arizona Beach Volleyball has grown a ton as a team throughout the season. Last season we barely made it into Nationals, and it was what happened right before the selection show; we beat UCLA in Pac-12's and that's how we got in. So were hoping to put on a big show this year and we have home court advantage with it being in Tucson."
While Manley is tearing it up on the court, she is also tearing it up in the classroom in her second year.
Manley was just recently admitted to the well-respected Eller School of Management where she plans on majoring in finance. She credits a lot of her academic success to the services and clubs offered to student-athletes by the University of Arizona.
"I think one thing that has helped me a lot is I take advantage of all the academic services offered to student-athletes here," says Manley. "I go in for tutoring for the classes that are tougher for me. I also try to do as much as I can outside of volleyball and being an athlete. For instance, I'm a part of the Investments Club here, and I'm a Zipperman scholar as well."
Follow along with Sam Manley and the entire Wildcats Beach Volleyball team as they take on Stanford in Tucson on April 21st and try to close out the year with a show big enough to carry them all the way to Nationals.
Follow the Cats!
For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat Beach Volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com. Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona Athletics by following us on Twitter (@UAbeachvb), Instagram (@arizonabeachvolleyball), Facebook (ArizonaBeachVolleyball), and Snapchat (Arizonabeachvb).
But like transitioning to anywhere or anything new, it isn't always easy.
"I was used to playing on an actual beach," says Manley. "And there is swirly wind here, instead of the straight line kind of wind that comes off the ocean. Also, playing at a high school level and a college level are completely different. I had to get used to playing against girls who are taller and better. The ball is coming at such a faster pace on serve receive and defending hits."
The difference in courts and play made for a tough transition mentally for Manley at first.
While as a freshman she was slated in as the No. 3 pair for Arizona, which can be seen as strong vote of confidence from Coach Steve Walker, she found she was often nervous before matches, and focused on her opponent's game rather than her own.
"I was really nervous before every match, and I was worried about what the other team was going to do," says Manley. "I would think maybe they were taller, or maybe they were good at defense".
However, like all good athletes, Manley recognized a flaw in her approach to the game and made an adjustment. Going into her sophomore year she was determined to focus on her own game, and on what she could control.
"The biggest takeaway I have from freshman year to sophomore year is confidence," says Manley. "I realized what wins games is determined by what happens on our side of the net, and that we (herself and her partner Hailey Devlin) need to take care of our own passes, sets and hits."
With this new mentality Manley was primed and ready to take on her sophomore year season. Her goal being to win more matches this year than she had in her freshman season year.
She reached that goal this past weekend at the UCLA Invite, as she is now at 16 match wins this year. Manley has a chance improve her Freshman year record even more, as she still has more play to come against Stanford, Cal, and the entire Pac-12 tournament, where she will play against five different teams.
Coach Walker isn't too shocked by her improvement this year either. He sees the effort she puts in on a daily basis, and then watches it translate into the games.
"Sam is the type of player that is going to show improvement every year she's in the program, simply because she's so committed," says Walker. "She believes in what we're doing and gives nothing less than 100% of her herself every minute of practice. She's as committed as any player I've had in the program to date."
As for the team, their goal is to make it the National Championships, and then win the whole thing. While the team has had some stumbles this year, Manley knows it's not how you start, but how you finish.
"Our goal was to win the national championship," says Manley. "So far we haven't lived up to that, but we still have room. We still have the big Pac-12 tournament, and if we can win that, that'll put us in a good position to go to Nationals. In past seasons I feel like Arizona Beach Volleyball has grown a ton as a team throughout the season. Last season we barely made it into Nationals, and it was what happened right before the selection show; we beat UCLA in Pac-12's and that's how we got in. So were hoping to put on a big show this year and we have home court advantage with it being in Tucson."
While Manley is tearing it up on the court, she is also tearing it up in the classroom in her second year.
Manley was just recently admitted to the well-respected Eller School of Management where she plans on majoring in finance. She credits a lot of her academic success to the services and clubs offered to student-athletes by the University of Arizona.
"I think one thing that has helped me a lot is I take advantage of all the academic services offered to student-athletes here," says Manley. "I go in for tutoring for the classes that are tougher for me. I also try to do as much as I can outside of volleyball and being an athlete. For instance, I'm a part of the Investments Club here, and I'm a Zipperman scholar as well."
Follow along with Sam Manley and the entire Wildcats Beach Volleyball team as they take on Stanford in Tucson on April 21st and try to close out the year with a show big enough to carry them all the way to Nationals.
Follow the Cats!
For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat Beach Volleyball, visit ArizonaWildcats.com. Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona Athletics by following us on Twitter (@UAbeachvb), Instagram (@arizonabeachvolleyball), Facebook (ArizonaBeachVolleyball), and Snapchat (Arizonabeachvb).
Players Mentioned
Blocker
/ Beach Volleyball
Defender
/ Beach VolleyballMonday, April 22
Wednesday, February 08
Wednesday, October 14
Monday, October 05
