Before the adventure of Hurricane Ike and the ensuing two weeks away from campus, Lamarcardinals.com sat down with freshman outside hitter Courtney Trevino. Here's a look at what she had to say.

Lamarcardinals.com: Tell me a little about your athletics background.

CT: I played basketball for 10 years and through my sophomore year volleyball and basketball overlapped. After playing basketball for three coaches that I didn't really like I decided to just play volleyball after my sophomore year and I played club volleyball for six years as well.

Lamarcardinals.com: Rumor has it that you are a pretty good beach volleyball player. What is the difference between playing beach volleyball as opposed to playing regular volleyball?

CT: Beach volleyball is much more of a mental game. It can be a power game, but it's a lot more about knowing the court and knowing your surroundings. It helps you develop your skills because you have to an all around player to have success. It's not specialized like indoor volleyball. I love it.

Lamarcardinals.com: The NCAA has considered making beach volleyball an official sport. What do you think about that possibility?

CT: I keep up with it as much as I can. I try to read as much about it on the internet, I think they're supposed to vote on it in August. A lot of it would depend on coaching because the coaching is a lot different that regular volleyball, but I hope the opportunity becomes available.

Lamarcardinals.com: Early on this season you have played a big role in the offense. What has that been like?

CT: It's been fun. Playing the beach game, I'm used to playing with older players so the gap between a senior and a freshman hasn't scared me. When I play beach in Austin I am the youngest player and everyone else is 25 or older. I wasn't expecting to step up too much early on, but it's been fun. I was glad I could do it, but I hope when everyone else starts to turn it on, I won't have to play as much as a role. Not that I wouldn't be ready to do so though.

Lamarcardinals.com: At least your teammates know they can rely on you when it's needed. Having a bunch of weapons on the team is a good way to build a championship program.

CT: Well I hope I can keep it up.

Lamarcardinals.com: Well, I'll let you get going now. Thanks for stopping by to chat Courtney.