That's What She Set: Q&A with Kendra Dahlke
04/11/2017 | Beach Volleyball
Kendra Dahlke stands as a competitive player with a big heart. Her teammates say, of many things, Kendra brings an intimidation factor to the courts. After competing indoor for the previous two seasons, Dahlke now competes with both the indoor and beach volleyball teams.This presents its own set of challenges to Kendra, but she continues to prove her worth.
Kendra does not take competition lightly. Prior to Arizona, she earned the titles of All Region, All-District, All-City, and All-Conference player in high school in addition to being named the 2014 Junior Olympic Most Valuable Player. With that, she continues to improve her technique and bring the heat to the competition.
ArizonaWildcats.com sat down with blocker Kendra Dahlke from Bonsall, Calif. to chat about her first volleyball moments and her transition to a Sand Cat.
Q: What brings you to Tucson from San Diego, Calif.?
A: "When i first chose Arizona, I wanted to get away from California, but also still be close to my family. It's funny now though because my family now lives in Phoenix, so they are extra close, but that's even nicer knowing that they can still come to the games. The biggest thing for me was being able to get far away enough from home and still have a college experience, but still have my family around to watch."
Q: What has been the biggest challenge or difference between you playing beach volleyball versus indoor volleyball?
A: "Definitely the fact that it is only you and your partner on the sand and the fact that you're on sand, it's a very different sport. There are very different techniques, a lot more court to cover, and not being able to jump as high as I do indoor stands as a challenge. Sometimes that can be a struggle, especially when I have certain shots set in my head, I cannot execute those as well as I would want to on the sand. It's been a lot of fun though and I've been learning a lot of new things, which is great."
Q: What's it like having some of your indoor teammates out there with you taking on the sand?
A: "It's a huge relief. That way I'm not the only one going through the transition from indoor to sand. It's nice seeing some familiar faces out there, and knowing we're all going through the same transition, so it makes it a lot easier."
Q: What have you personally been working on?
A: "Pretty much my all around game. I have been working on getting better at certain techniques or skills, specifically with defense, transitioning from outdoor to indoor, improving my game in areas like blocking and serving"
Q: What do you think the team has improved on the most since the season started?
A: "Our level of play has gotten better each weekend that we compete. Our defense has made a huge jump from what it was when we first got out here. Our system has also improved. Playing together, we can pretty much interchange our teammates now and we're efficient."
Q: What is your earliest volleyball memory?
A: My earliest volleyball memory would probably be when I first got to middle school. I had always played basketball pretty much up until middle school. The P.E. teacher saw me walking around campus, and I was tall, so she said, 'You should come try out for volleyball' and I said, "I don't know what volleyball is. I've never touched a volleyball or played.' The coach told me to give it a try, so I said okay. They put me on the varsity team. The coach saw potential in me, so I played varsity all three years in middle school. The next year, I quit basketball and stuck with volleyball."
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