The fall season is just a couple of weeks away and student-athletes across the country are gearing up. In her first guest post for the Double-A Zone, Western Carolina sophomore Liz Rondone shares some thoughts about preseason in Cullowhee.

The aching bodies and endless days can only mean on thing - preseason. I am Liz Rondone, a sophomore libero from Bloomington, Illinois, and one of the 12 student-athletes on the Catamount volleyball team. The team and I have already survived two days of our conditioning test, two days of three-a-day practices, and a summer of hard work all in preparation for the upcoming season.

Last season was not up to our expectations, as we finished in the bottom half of the SoCon. We ended with a record far from .500 after only sweeping one team. With that being said, I feel like we did not walk away empty handed. Not only does the new team know what we want to work for (making it to the SoCon championship match), but we know how much harder we have to push for it. This leaves us with nothing but high hopes for the upcoming season.

Team chemistry has never been more perfect, which is causing a domino effect on the rest of preseason. Everyone is getting along, despite differences in where we???re from and how old we are. Because we are mixing so well, working hard during practice does not seem difficult. Since we are working hard the coaches have been making the practice sessions enjoyable and even seem happy themselves. With all of this combined, preseason is actually fun. Sure we can???t wait for it to be over and head to SMU for our first tournament, but no one has to pull our teeth to make us show up for practice.

Granted, I am not focusing on the fact that I struggle to get into bed every night even though it is only a couple of feet off the ground, but it???s all worth it in the end. We are going to extreme lengths to make a difference this year and to give our competitors something to wince about. All I can share at this point is that our confidence is building along with our skills. Watch out SoCon!