Sports > November 6, 2008

By Lizzie Rosen | Senior writer

Named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and to the ACC All-Academic Team and one of only two student-athletes in the conference to be named to both teams, as well as receiving the team’s Rookie of the Year Award, sophomore Kelsey Jones had a lot accomplished after just one year at Wake. While she also led the team with 1,069 assists, she would keep pushing herself, recently reaching the 2,000 career assist mark. Taking time out from smashing volleyball records and test scores, Jones spoke to the OGB.

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(Photo by Brian Westerholt Graphic by Bobby O’Connor/Old Gold & Black)

On how she decided to come to Wake:

I found out about Wake through their recruitment; they send stuff to you. I researched it on the Internet and decided to take a visit down here. Once I got here I fell in love with the campus, the people and the day I came they were doing DESK. I really love volunteering and that aspect of Wake Forest, how its in involved in the community, so that was a key factor. The team was awesome also, so it was a very good fit.

On how she got involved in volleyball:

Growing up, my dad played football in college so he was really into athletics, so he had my sister and I involved in little kids’ soccer and went from there to play softball, gymnastics and basketball. I started playing volleyball in fourth grade, but didn’t start taking it seriously until seventh grade when I started playing it in the club season as well, and decided it was something I really liked.

On her favorite place to play volleyball and why:

My favorite place is up at my beach house at home. We have tournaments in the summer with family members and friends. We’ll play outside for a couple hours straight, and everyone has a really good time. It gets kind of competitive too. It’s very fun. All the neighboring families join in.

On why the team wins and loses in streaks:

Volleyball is a very momentous game. We also are 10-1 at home; we play very well at home. Before we beat Miami, we hadn’t won on the road at all as far as ACC games go. I think it’s a comfort thing, being at home in our own gym with our fans. We are also a young team. We only have two seniors, so people are still getting used to playing on the road and the adjustments of that. We have our highs and lows. Any given day you can beat the best team or lose to the worst team.

On surpassing the 2,000 career assist mark:

I did not know until yesterday when someone pointed it out. It was on the Web site I guess, but it’s an awesome individual accomplishment. The only reason I got it is because of the hitters on our team. Volleyball is a completely team sport; each thing builds upon the other. I have to have a good pass from the passers to actually set a good set, and the hitters have to put it down for me to even get the assist. It completely correlates to what they do; so I should be thanking them for putting down the balls that I set. It’s always fun to meet a goal that I have.

On the goals this season:

We set team goals at the beginning of the year. They included that we want to finish at the top half of the ACC, because we had a season that didn’t exactly go our way last year with injuries and close games. So the main goal is to finish top half ACC. This also means having a winning record, and we are right where we need to be with that. Individually, I have statistic goals, like assists I wanted per game based off the number one ACC team setter from Duke. For my position, playing defense is really important too, so I wanted to make sure I had a certain number of digs per game. After each week, we review and make sure we are meeting our goals and so far we are. Ultimately it’s the team goal of finishing in the top half of the ACC.

On playing another sport:

I played tennis all through high school and loved that. It’s like the opposite of volleyball; it’s individual, you’re outside, there’s no diving. But, I think it would be really cool after coming here, after watching field hockey, to play. It’s a really fun sport. I’m from Michigan so I never saw field hockey before coming here, and they run the whole game which impresses me.

On any rituals she has before games:

I have a playlist on my iPod. It’s a very random list of music, and it’s been built on from last year. I use it to get pumped up during my hour of treatment to mentally get ready before a match.