Charlize Rust, contributor ‘24

Due to Covid-19, we have all felt the devastation of school and sports being canceled. You can only imagine the effect on college athletes. It started with March Madness being canceled, then athletes were not able to prepare sufficiently in the off-season, and now sports are just beginning to kick off again. Shannon Williams, a new addition to the CCD volleyball coaching staff, was able to give us an inside perspective as a volleyball player at the University of Cincinnati. The setter is entering her junior year as an ACC champion and is hoping to have a repeat of that success. Shannon is a marketing major and helped launch the Black Student-Athlete Association at UC among many other academic achievements. I had the opportunity to ask her about the impact of Covid-19 on herself, her  team, and the NCAA.

1. How has COVID-19 affected your upcoming season?

Due to Covid-19 my junior season of volleyball has been postponed with the intent to start up again in January! Since volleyball will be played in a different season, our number of games played has been cut from roughly 30 to 8-10 games.

2. What are the daily differences this year because of the virus?

The biggest difference this year is not competing on the big stage in the fall. This is the first fall season that I have not played an actual match in eight years. It has taken a big toll on my body, mentally and physically, to switch my life over to training with no competition in eyesight. Every day my team just practices and works out like we would in our off season. On the academic side of things, I only have one class out of six that is synchronous and in person.

3. How has the cancellation of the spring seasons affected the seniors?

This did not apply to me or my team because the spring is out of season, so no seniors were affected differently than the rest of team members. We all just lost one spring/off season of training.

4. What changes has the NCAA made this year?

The biggest change the NCAA has made would be regarding eligibility. All athletes that had their seasons cancelled or postponed can take a redshirt year with no consequences to their prior eligibility. I already redshirted my freshman year in 2018, so if I take the NCAA’s offer, I can play six years of volleyball for UC.

5. When will your games officially start?

The first play date of the spring season is January 22 for Division 1 volleyball.

6. Will people be allowed to attend games?

Yes. As of right now, we are only allowed to have about  400-500 people in our 12,000-person arena.

7. What are you most looking forward to the coming season?

I am excited to compete with teammates and best friends once again. I am also looking forward to traveling once again. Team travel weekends are some of my favorite experiences as a collegiate athlete.