One Last Dance
7/20/2022 2:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Super senior duo plans to use their experience with U.S. Collegiate National Team as a springboard for fall season
Over the past four years, Rice Volleyball has experienced some of the best seasons in program history, amassing a combined record of 87-23 and a 49-3 mark in the Conference USA regular seasons. The Owls are one of just 21 programs in NCAA Division I to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons, including one of just three (Baylor and Texas) to do so from the state of Texas.
A big reason for the Owls' success has been the dynamic duo of middle blocker Anota Adekunle and setter Carly Graham. The pair returns for their fifth and final seasons this fall and have their eyes set on finishing out their illustrious careers in grand style.
This past June, Adekunle and Graham earned the opportunity to compete amongst the nation's best when the duo earned spots on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team in Anaheim. It marked the second straight summer for Adekunle and the first for Graham, with Rice Volleyball becoming one of just eight programs in the NCAA this season to have a pair of student-athletes selected.
With the 2022 season less than a month away, the pair sat down for a Q&A to talk about their experiences this summer, why they decided to return for a fifth season, and how they view their careers at Rice up until this point.
Q: What was it like to being chosen to the WCNT and to be able to do it alongside each other?
AA: "It was such an awesome and humbling experience. To be able to play with the best of the best across the country was a feeling like no other. It's so inspiring to see everyone there working hard and getting after it. To be able to have Carly alongside me made the experience 10x better. Not only because it was exciting to see a familiar face, but because the amount of knowledge and information we were able to gather and bring back with us to inspire and aid everyone else on our team was incredible."
CG: "It was pretty freaking cool. The tryout itself was an awesome experience getting to meet and play with people you have played against for years in club volleyball as well as college. It was so cool getting to actually talk and get to know a lot of those girls. It was the best experience getting to do it with Anota. From the tryout, to making the team, and then going to Anaheim together. Anota has been chosen the past two consecutive years, so she helped me a lot in what to expect as well. It was so much fun getting to be with her during the whole time whether it was the traveling, the fun dinners, and the training as well. We made some awesome memories in Anaheim which I will cherish. Super fun too when it worked out to be on the same side of the net as each other as we would all rotate around the whole time. I DID NOT APPRECIATE BEING ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE NET AS HER THOUGH. I am so thankful she is my teammate and friend."
Q: What are some things that you'll take from that experience into this upcoming season?
AA: "Having a growth mindset was one big focus of ours for the week that we were in Anaheim, and I think that's something I'll take into this upcoming season. Just being open to any and everything that could happen on the court and making a conscious effort to get better every single day. While realizing how important it is to know that what I do today will impact my progress tomorrow and the days after that. As much as it may not seem like it everything you do matters."
CG: "I think one of the biggest things that I took away from the experience was a lot of the mindset work we discussed while we were there. There were great frameworks that we learned of how to positively uplift yourself as well as others in times of either high stress, anxiety, or lack of confidence. We got to hear from former Olympians and their journeys as well as some current members of the National Team and it was great to hear and learn from them."
Q: How much confidence do you gain from being around some of the best players in the country and does it make you feel like you belong?
AA: "I gained a lot more confidence in myself being surrounded by some of the best players in the country. It not only makes me feel like I belong, but it helps me to not compare myself to others. Comparison is the thief of all joy and knowing that I was able to work hard and be chosen for the WCNT let me know that I don't have to compare myself to anyone except the person I was yesterday. Always work to be better than I was the day before."
CG: "It really was such an awesome group of women and coaches to train with and learn from. The environment was extremely uplifting, and everyone was open to learning not only from the amazing coaching staff but also from each other. I think the people and the environment really makes everyone instantly feel like they belong. Before we started training, they set up this environment to be extremely accepting and a learning environment where failure was welcomed. I would say the environment and the girls there made me feel like I belonged with that alone and I talked to many others that felt the same way."
Q: What went into your decision to return for a fifth year at Rice?
AA: "I just knew that I wasn't ready to be done with volleyball or ready to be done at Rice. The teammates that I have and the bonds that we've created together, I wouldn't trade for the world. I also wanted to further my academic career and receive a master's degree. It all feels so surreal. Another degree in the works while battling it out with my teammates on the court one last time. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the end!"
CG: "The second I learned it was a possibility I immediately knew I wanted to. I love my teammates and the entire coaching staff, and I am forever grateful for them. I wanted to get to be a part of this for as long as I could. This place is truly special and I'm forever grateful for Rice."
Q: How would you describe the last four seasons and everything you've accomplished both individually and as a team?
AA: "It's been record-breaking. Coming in my freshman year if you would have told me that I'd be in the NCAA tournament my first year and every year after that we would get one round farther than the year before it would have been too much for me to even try and understand. Along with beating Texas not once but twice, recording the most kills in a game by a middle at Rice, being the MVP of the C-USA Championship, getting the opportunity to be on the WCNT twice, and so many more groundbreaking events. It's been the best four years I could have asked for and it excites me that there's still so much more to come with this upcoming season."
CG: "The last four seasons have just been a dream. Each team has been unique, loving, and driven, but all in their own ways. There of course have been ups and downs, as there is with everything, but those all made each of those teams grow. The biggest takeaways are the relationships and bonds you form with your teammates and your coaches. The many laughs and fun memories will be the biggest takeaways. Those are what also allow a team to accomplish their goals. Every day is fun to me when I look around and see all these people working extremely hard and getting after it for the people around them. And it makes me want to do the same."
Q: What most excites you about this upcoming season?
AA: "What most excites me about this upcoming season is our preseason! We have so many great teams lined up to play that will challenge us and ultimately allow us to show how hard we've worked in the offseason to prepare."
CG: "I'm just so excited to compete again with this team. Open gyms and training have been so fun this summer. We're all working together and getting after it. It has been a grind this past offseason and the summer and I'm so excited to get to compete again in August with everyone."
Q: How weird/different is it for y'all to be viewed now as the veterans that everyone will be looking up to now and how would you like to conclude your career here at Rice?
AA: "It doesn't feel too weird because of being a senior last year as well but it does open my eyes a bit more and push me to be the best role model I can be. I always want to be a leader that people feel comfortable coming to for anything. I would like to conclude my rice career with of course leaving nothing behind. Giving everything that I have so I can look back and have no regrets! No matter the outcome I want to know that I gave everything."
CG: "It's not that weird to me cause it honestly just kind of feels like I just got here in a weird way. Anota and I were just talking about this the other day too, how it really has just flown by. But thinking how I started on the team when I was 17 and now I'm 22 does weird me out (laughs). To conclude at Rice makes me sad to think about it. I just love it here and all the people, but I feel like just leaving everything out there. All together. That would be the best conclusion. When the last ball hits the floor just feeling like we left everything we all had will be the greatest finish I think no matter what that may look like."
A big reason for the Owls' success has been the dynamic duo of middle blocker Anota Adekunle and setter Carly Graham. The pair returns for their fifth and final seasons this fall and have their eyes set on finishing out their illustrious careers in grand style.
This past June, Adekunle and Graham earned the opportunity to compete amongst the nation's best when the duo earned spots on the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team in Anaheim. It marked the second straight summer for Adekunle and the first for Graham, with Rice Volleyball becoming one of just eight programs in the NCAA this season to have a pair of student-athletes selected.
With the 2022 season less than a month away, the pair sat down for a Q&A to talk about their experiences this summer, why they decided to return for a fifth season, and how they view their careers at Rice up until this point.
Q: What was it like to being chosen to the WCNT and to be able to do it alongside each other?
AA: "It was such an awesome and humbling experience. To be able to play with the best of the best across the country was a feeling like no other. It's so inspiring to see everyone there working hard and getting after it. To be able to have Carly alongside me made the experience 10x better. Not only because it was exciting to see a familiar face, but because the amount of knowledge and information we were able to gather and bring back with us to inspire and aid everyone else on our team was incredible."
CG: "It was pretty freaking cool. The tryout itself was an awesome experience getting to meet and play with people you have played against for years in club volleyball as well as college. It was so cool getting to actually talk and get to know a lot of those girls. It was the best experience getting to do it with Anota. From the tryout, to making the team, and then going to Anaheim together. Anota has been chosen the past two consecutive years, so she helped me a lot in what to expect as well. It was so much fun getting to be with her during the whole time whether it was the traveling, the fun dinners, and the training as well. We made some awesome memories in Anaheim which I will cherish. Super fun too when it worked out to be on the same side of the net as each other as we would all rotate around the whole time. I DID NOT APPRECIATE BEING ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE NET AS HER THOUGH. I am so thankful she is my teammate and friend."
Q: What are some things that you'll take from that experience into this upcoming season?
AA: "Having a growth mindset was one big focus of ours for the week that we were in Anaheim, and I think that's something I'll take into this upcoming season. Just being open to any and everything that could happen on the court and making a conscious effort to get better every single day. While realizing how important it is to know that what I do today will impact my progress tomorrow and the days after that. As much as it may not seem like it everything you do matters."
CG: "I think one of the biggest things that I took away from the experience was a lot of the mindset work we discussed while we were there. There were great frameworks that we learned of how to positively uplift yourself as well as others in times of either high stress, anxiety, or lack of confidence. We got to hear from former Olympians and their journeys as well as some current members of the National Team and it was great to hear and learn from them."
Q: How much confidence do you gain from being around some of the best players in the country and does it make you feel like you belong?
AA: "I gained a lot more confidence in myself being surrounded by some of the best players in the country. It not only makes me feel like I belong, but it helps me to not compare myself to others. Comparison is the thief of all joy and knowing that I was able to work hard and be chosen for the WCNT let me know that I don't have to compare myself to anyone except the person I was yesterday. Always work to be better than I was the day before."
CG: "It really was such an awesome group of women and coaches to train with and learn from. The environment was extremely uplifting, and everyone was open to learning not only from the amazing coaching staff but also from each other. I think the people and the environment really makes everyone instantly feel like they belong. Before we started training, they set up this environment to be extremely accepting and a learning environment where failure was welcomed. I would say the environment and the girls there made me feel like I belonged with that alone and I talked to many others that felt the same way."
Q: What went into your decision to return for a fifth year at Rice?
AA: "I just knew that I wasn't ready to be done with volleyball or ready to be done at Rice. The teammates that I have and the bonds that we've created together, I wouldn't trade for the world. I also wanted to further my academic career and receive a master's degree. It all feels so surreal. Another degree in the works while battling it out with my teammates on the court one last time. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the end!"
CG: "The second I learned it was a possibility I immediately knew I wanted to. I love my teammates and the entire coaching staff, and I am forever grateful for them. I wanted to get to be a part of this for as long as I could. This place is truly special and I'm forever grateful for Rice."
Q: How would you describe the last four seasons and everything you've accomplished both individually and as a team?
AA: "It's been record-breaking. Coming in my freshman year if you would have told me that I'd be in the NCAA tournament my first year and every year after that we would get one round farther than the year before it would have been too much for me to even try and understand. Along with beating Texas not once but twice, recording the most kills in a game by a middle at Rice, being the MVP of the C-USA Championship, getting the opportunity to be on the WCNT twice, and so many more groundbreaking events. It's been the best four years I could have asked for and it excites me that there's still so much more to come with this upcoming season."
CG: "The last four seasons have just been a dream. Each team has been unique, loving, and driven, but all in their own ways. There of course have been ups and downs, as there is with everything, but those all made each of those teams grow. The biggest takeaways are the relationships and bonds you form with your teammates and your coaches. The many laughs and fun memories will be the biggest takeaways. Those are what also allow a team to accomplish their goals. Every day is fun to me when I look around and see all these people working extremely hard and getting after it for the people around them. And it makes me want to do the same."
Q: What most excites you about this upcoming season?
AA: "What most excites me about this upcoming season is our preseason! We have so many great teams lined up to play that will challenge us and ultimately allow us to show how hard we've worked in the offseason to prepare."
CG: "I'm just so excited to compete again with this team. Open gyms and training have been so fun this summer. We're all working together and getting after it. It has been a grind this past offseason and the summer and I'm so excited to get to compete again in August with everyone."
Q: How weird/different is it for y'all to be viewed now as the veterans that everyone will be looking up to now and how would you like to conclude your career here at Rice?
AA: "It doesn't feel too weird because of being a senior last year as well but it does open my eyes a bit more and push me to be the best role model I can be. I always want to be a leader that people feel comfortable coming to for anything. I would like to conclude my rice career with of course leaving nothing behind. Giving everything that I have so I can look back and have no regrets! No matter the outcome I want to know that I gave everything."
CG: "It's not that weird to me cause it honestly just kind of feels like I just got here in a weird way. Anota and I were just talking about this the other day too, how it really has just flown by. But thinking how I started on the team when I was 17 and now I'm 22 does weird me out (laughs). To conclude at Rice makes me sad to think about it. I just love it here and all the people, but I feel like just leaving everything out there. All together. That would be the best conclusion. When the last ball hits the floor just feeling like we left everything we all had will be the greatest finish I think no matter what that may look like."
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