USU Eastern athlete spotlight: Raven Rodriguez

Raven Rodriguez is a Freshman at Utah State University Eastern. She graduated from Riverton High School before coming to USUE. Raven plays Setter for the Women’s Volleyball team here at USUE.

Rodriguez wears jersey number four. Rodriguez was asked how she was feeling about this season. She said, “I am excited we have a lot of good goals to reach.” One of the team’s goals is to return to nationals this year. For those who don’t know, Setters are kind of like the conductors of their team’s offense. Setters specialize in moving the ball to give their hitters an opening.

When asked about her favorite part of being a setter, Rodriguez responded, “It’s awesome, it’s like the Quarterback of volleyball.” Rodriguez was then asked what plays she likes to set up the most, and she said, “I like running plays that throw off the other side.” Rodriguez can back up her talk with quite impressive achievements. She holds six personal state records in volleyball, all of which she achieved in her senior year of high school.

Rodriguez was asked what her best record was, and she said, “I’m first in aces in a match. I think that 23 is what I got.” An ace in volleyball is when the player serving the ball gets that point immediately. This can be accomplished in several ways. The two most common scenarios are that the ball hits the floor on the opposing team’s side without resistance, and none of the opposing team’s players touch the ball. Or the opposing team touches the ball but is unable to keep it in play. So, 23 aces in a match is really impressive, as most volleyball matches are only played to 25 points.

Rodriguez was asked what her favorite part of being on the USUE volleyball team was. She responded, “Probably all of my teammates and my coaches. We all have good chemistry. We have a lot of fun together, so it makes practice and games really fun.” Watching any of the matches that the USUE volleyball team has played so far this year, you can really see the teamwork paying off.

From the matches Rodriguez has played so far, she was asked to name her favorite one. Rodriguez responded, “Playing in Florida was really awesome for us.” When asked why Florida was so good for them, Rodriguez said, “The tournaments were really great learning experiences for us. There were really good teams there that we were able to play, and it was like the first tournament of the season.” The USUE team did really well in this first tournament. They have won three out of their four matches.

Rodriguez was asked what her favorite part of any match was. She responded, “Probably when it gets super intense.” This season appears to be a promising one for Raven Rodriguez and the rest of the USUE volleyball team. It will be fun to watch Rodriguez in her rookie collegiate year of volleyball. Be sure to keep an eye out for her as she continues to serve aces and passes to her teammates on the floor.