Now in her third year with the UC San Diego women's volleyball team, junior Danielle Dahle is a bona fide star. The numbers and awards certainly back it up. She's played in 76 matches, starting all but one, and racked up 975 kills, 50 aces, 803 digs and 123 total blocks. She was a first-team All-American as a sophomore, and is a two-time first-team All-CCAA selection and two-time UCSD Athlete of the Year. Dahle has helped push her team to two NCAA Championship berths, and to date, the 2014 Tritons are 10-5 overall and perched in a second-place tie in the conference race. UCSD head coach Ricci Luyties calls her, “steady, reliable, really the backbone of our team.” With the second half of the CCAA season starting this week, we had a chance to connect with the La Mesa native and get her thoughts on a variety of topics.
Q: In terms of volleyball, what's the one thing you know now that you wish you would have known as a freshman?
DAHLE: Ice baths are amazing. I really didn't take advantage of them freshman year, and it seems like I can't go a week without one this season.
Q:This year's team is 10-5 overall, 8-3 in the CCAA, and tied for second in the conference race. What's your impression of the team's progress from day one to now?
DAHLE: I think we've really continued to improve throughout conference play. We have yet to reach our potential, so I hope we do that around the time of (NCAA) regionals. As long as we keep playing well, I think we have a good chance of winning conference.
Q: On the court, what's been the thing that's surprised you most about this year's team so far?
DAHLE: I am the most surprised with how well people perform when they are put in. We don't really have a consistent starting lineup, and it's really cool to see everyone in close competition with each other. It makes practice much more intense and competitive, which makes us better in the long run.
Q: Although many of the players stay the same from year to year, does each team take on its own personality? What would you say are the predominant characteristics of this year's squad?
DAHLE: I would say there is definitely a different personality associated with each year's new team. This year, there are a lot of really funny and goofy personalities, and our coach is really good at putting up with all of our lame jokes.
Q: As a freshman starter, you said that you didn't feel the need to step up as a leader, deferring that to the more veteran players. Is that different now?
DAHLE: I don't think my role on the court has changed much from freshman year, but off the court, I think I've assumed more of a leadership position, especially since I'm a captain this year. Volleyball is a team sport, and a lot of people have to step up and do their jobs for us to have success.
Q: Last weekend, you had the opportunity to attend UC San Diego Athletics' 2014 Hall of Fame ceremony, in which former Triton volleyball star Carol Lipson was one of the inductees. What was that like, and did you have the opportunity to talk at all with Carol? If so, what was that conversation like?
DAHLE: The Hall of Fame (ceremony) was an amazing experience. It was so cool to hear all the alumni-athletes tell their stories and try and imagine how UCSD was in the past. Hearing how the volleyball and basketball players played in Main Gym at the time made me really appreciate the facilities we have now.
I talked with Carol after the brunch and she talked about how during her time (1984-87), all the sports teams (especially men's basketball and volleyball) came and cheered them on at their games. It is nice to know that the tradition of going to fellow athletes' games has been going on for so long. She said that the fans would set up a keg on the lawn before all the games and then go cheer for them.
Q: You list one of your hobbies as traveling. What is the favorite place you've visited, and where is the place you'd most like to see?
DAHLE: My favorite place I've been is England. London is so cool and the countryside has so much history. I stayed in an old castle for part of my visit there, and it was so amazing. I would absolutely love to go visit my friends (former Triton volleyball players) Sophie (Rowe) and Sheridan (Taylor) in the Netherlands, but if they weren't there, I would really enjoy Greece. Santorini is on my bucket list.
Q: What's the most interesting non-volleyball thing you've become involved with since coming to UC San Diego?
DAHLE: I have been working for UCSD Intramural Sports for a couple quarters now, refereeing both volleyball and innertube water polo. I really enjoy seeing students have fun with their friends. A lot of teams get really competitive, and it's great to get to know some of the players and see them come play purely for the enjoyment of the sport.
Q: As a native of nearby La Mesa, what's been the biggest benefit of “staying local” for college?
DAHLE: The biggest benefit of being a local is getting to go home easily and for my parents to be able to come watch my home games. I feel so lucky to go home whenever, just to visit with my sister and dog. And of course, I bring laundry to my mom whenever I can.
Q: Predict the future. If you were scripting the remainder of the Tritons' 2014 season, how would it read?
DAHLE: “The UCSD women's volleyball team finished the conference in first place.” As for postseason, I'm too superstitious to predict that. I always psych myself out, actually. Until recently, I refused to wear my hair in anything other than a French braid because I truly believed I would play bad if I didn't. Then I donated my hair, and got over the superstition seeing as a two-inch braid isn't too cute.
Previous Triton Q&A Features
Tareq Alwafai (Men's Cross Country) September 25, 2014
David Higginson (Men's Water Polo) September 18, 2014
Matthew McClure (Men's Soccer) September 10, 2014
Caitlin Brenton (Women's Volleyball) September 3, 2014
Michelle Yasutake (Women's Soccer) August 25, 2014
2013-14 • 2010-13 • 2004-09
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