The UCLA women’s volleyball team has a new look this season. It is a taller and younger look than previous years. While most UCLA freshmen spend their first quarter trying to find their way around campus, three freshmen on the volleyball team have made a smooth transition into their role as college athletes.
Despite their youth, Amanda Gil, Katie Camp and Lainey Gera have proved that they are ready to challenge the best players in NCAA volleyball. Only a month into competition, they have already worked their way into the team’s lineup and have helped the Bruins kick off the year with a strong preseason.
“I think they are transitioning really well and they are open to learning,” senior outside hitter Ali Daley said about the new players.
Gil, Camp and Gera are just three of nine true freshmen to join the team. The addition of the freshmen has had a profound impact on the court. Gil stands at 6 feet 6 inches, while Camp is not far behind at 6 feet 5 inches. According to coach Andy Banachowski, the team was looking to add height to its roster and succeeded with the freshmen class.
Gil, who adds a tall block to the middle position, joins UCLA from Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. After a highly decorated high school career in which her team won a state championship in 2004, she was named an All-American her junior and senior years. Gil also comes in with international experience after competing for the U.S. girls’ youth national team for four years.
Gil has immediately taken one of the starting middle blocker positions vacated by former middle blocker Rachell Johnson, who graduated last year. Gil knew that a middle position would be open but also knew that she would have to earn her spot.
“Katie (Camp) and I are both middles, so I knew we would have to fight for our positions,” Gil said. “We don’t have any other middles, so there is more pressure, but we are getting better every game.”
Camp is the Bruins’ other starting middle blocker. She comes to UCLA from Raleigh, North Carolina. With Cardinal Gibbons High School, Camp won three state championships and is the school’s record holder with a hitting percentage of .528. Despite her impressive volleyball career in high school, Camp still entered this season with a humbled attitude.
“Coming in here, I did not have high expectations of starting,” Camp said. “I figured that I would get some playing time, but I did not think that I would be starting every match.”
While Gil and Camp are busy taking charge of the front row, Gera has made her contribution to the back row defense. Like Gil, Gera hails from Archbishop Mitty High School, where she received league and section honors. Before the season started, she did not predict that she would become an important defensive specialist for the Bruins.
“There are two (defensive specialist) seniors, and I knew that there were at least two more in my class,” Gera said. “I did not know what to expect.”
So far, Gil, Camp, and Gera have enjoyed their time living on the Hill. Like all freshmen, they are getting accustomed to setting their own schedules and looking forward to meeting new people during Zero Week.
Despite being on a strict nutritional diet during volleyball season, the players have nothing but good things to say about dorm food.
“When we were in Hawaii, we were sitting on the beach and like, “˜We could be at Rieber Dining Hall right now,'” Gera said.
With four years of experience to gain, Gil, Camp and Gera are looking forward to growing as individual players and leaving college with a volleyball family. They also have a common goal: a national championship.
“I really like that we all really want to win,” Camp said. “We all have a common bond that we are going to win a championship this year. You can see it every day that we are all coming together.”