July 9, 2009
Follow Allison and Ashley’s European adventure
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
If Ashley Rhoades and Allison Buck’s upcoming volleyball sojourn to Switzerland and Croatia somehow was made into a reality show for the Lifetime TV Network, a fitting title might be “Traveling With The Enemy”.
That’s exactly what Buck and Rhoades will be doing for two weeks with the Bring It Promotions (BIP)/USA Development Team as it heads into Europe for some up-scale competition. The coach of Buck and Rhoades’ team is none other than Tom Hilbert.
Yes, that’s Tom Hilbert of the Colorado State Rams — one of the Lobos’ targeted enemies in the Mountain West Conference.
“That`s interesting,” said Rhoades. “It might be awkward at first, but I`m sure we`ll all work to make it enjoyable.”
Said Buck, the only libero on the U.S. team: “I wasn’t sure how to take that when I saw he was our coach. It’s kind of weird, but it might be a good thing to have another conference coach watch you play and learn some things from him.”
Still, Buck does see a little espionage angle with this overseas voyage with a Ram.
“The bad thing might be letting him learn our weaknesses,” said Buck. “They are a conference rival, for sure, and I now that we’ll be out to beat them next year and they’ll be out to beat us.”
The two Lobo sophomores-to-be are the fifth Lobos to go on this tour. Rose Morris went in the summer of 2008 and Jeanne Fairchild and Gayle Tripp made the journey in 2007. Rhoades is a product of Rio Rancho High and has a slightly easier path to Switzerland. Buck flies into Europe from her home state of Washington.
“I leave Monday, July 13,” said Buck. “I go from Portland to Atlanta to Miami to New York to Zurich. It’s a long trip.”
Rhoades says a huge perk for the trip is having a fellow Lobo on the road.
“I`m excited, but I might be more nervous because it`s so far away from home,” she said. “I`ve only been outside the country to maybe Juarez for a day or Canada for a day.
“If Allison wasn’t going with me, I’d be a lot more nervous. We talked about it and neither of us wanted to do this if the other one wasn’t going.”
The tentative schedule for the two Lobos is to work out five days with the Swiss National Team and then slip into Croatia for four days of competition in the Global Challenge. Then they get a sightseeing day in Venice, Italy and touch down again on U.S. soil on July 26.
“I think my flight plan back home is a little easier,” said Buck.
The purpose of this trip for the two Lobos is to get better and possibly challenge for more playing time on the 2009 UNM squad, coached by Jeff Nelson.
“Coach told us this would be a great opportunity and a chance to play at a different level and become a better player,” said Rhoades. “My goal is to play a lot next year and be a part of a winning team.”
Said Buck: “This is exciting. It`s a special opportunity to play the sport you love and go to Europe to do it. There will be a lot of volleyball and playing with a national team is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We`ll be learning from the best players in a country.”
Both Rhoades and Buck admit their travel experiences are extremely limited — as is their knowledge of Switzerland and Croatia.
“I plan on learning something about the countries before I leave so I won’t be clueless when I get there,” said Rhoades.
Maybe Rhoades needs to hook up with Buck for a quick lesson on Switzerland. “I know the Matterhorn is there,” said Buck. “And Zurich. That’s about it.”