Long Trip Ahead for Canes VB
By Ashleigh Young
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team begins its longest road stint of the season, competing in its first of seven-straight matches away from the Knight Sports Complex.
The Hurricanes began their 2019 campaign with three home matches, earning a 2-1 record heading to the Lone Star state. After dropping the first match of the season to the now-ranked No. 21 Missouri team, 3-1, the Canes went a perfect 2-0 at the Hurricane Invitational defeating George Washington and USF. The wins were needed, but the team’s progression was what head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara liked the most.
“It’s always nice to pick up wins at home, especially early in the season, but I feel like we got better through the weekend,” Gandara said. “We put a lot of value in our improvement and it was important to see that from our team.”
With the comfort of Coral Gables 1,137 miles away, the Canes are adjusting to its first weekend away from home. Flights, bus rides and new gyms are the main difference, but that won’t be an excuse for Gandara’s side.
“This is a tough part of the schedule, but we’re going to look at them one at a time and stay focused to our tasks and not let those distractions keep us from doing our job,” Gandara said.
TCU and Auburn are first up for the Canes in this streak of road matches at the Add-Ran Cup hosted by TCU. Friday night’s match is just the second-ever meeting between the two sides with the Horned Frogs holding the 1-0 advantage. Defensive specialist Priscilla Hernandez realizes how important it is to take advantage of the match early while playing on the road, especially at a place like Fort Worth who has sold out its last six home matches.
“This first road match is important because it’s a lot of firsts for most of our team with so many newcomers to our team,” Hernandez said. “This is a different feel than playing at home and this match will be a good test to see how tough we are. We don’t have the comfort of our fans and this swing of games will set the tempo for how our season is going to go, but I think we’re really prepared for this weekend.”
Although the challenges lie ahead for the Canes with this schedule, freshman defensive specialist Amanda Falck will make her first appearance for Miami this season after suffering a concussion prior to the season. Falck’s presence on defense is a huge gain for the Canes.
“We’re excited to have Amanda back because she provides a lot of strength for us in our serve/receive and our defensive game,” Gandara said. “She’s also another weapon for us with her serve so we’re excited to have her back.”
