Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Duo Recounts Croatian Experience
5/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
May 21, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - "Yesterday I was awake for 27 hours," volleyball sophomore Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) said, recounting the return trip to Chicago from Croatia Monday. Lange and freshman teammate Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) spent the last 10 days playing in Europe with the USA National Select Team.
"It was really cool to experience Europe," Lange said. "We got to play in Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Croatia. It was amazing to expand my horizons."
"It was so different from the United States," Robertson said. "We definitely had a lot of fun, and it was a great experience playing with different women from across the country."
The USA National Select Team, comprised of current and former college players, participated in the Spring Cup 2002 in Porec, Croatia. More than a dozen national teams from other countries were in attendance.
"The competition was pretty tough," Robertson said, "but some teams were surprisingly not as good as we would have thought. Other teams were awesome. It was good to see different styles of play from different countries."
Lange and Robertson, neither of whom had ever traveled to Europe, were the only two players representing the Big Ten Conference on the roster of 17. They said it was an advantage to have another Wildcat on the team.
"I was hitting off of Drew," Lange said, "so I did well. It helped that she was there because we have played together for so long, I didn't have to adjust to a new setter."
The team was coached by UNLV head coach Dietre Collins and assisted by Meg Colado of Central Florida and Dave Best of Montana. Several of the players on the roster hailed from Top-25 programs like Florida, Pepperdine and Colorado.
Although the team had never played together before, Lange said the players did a good job of coming together. "We meshed really well from the start. It was a high level of play, very competitive and a lot of fun."
The middle blocker also added, "It was a great trip, but I'm happy to be home so I can get past the jetlag."
