Moster's Summer Vacation Included Tour with USA Volleyball
8/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
By Nick Barnowski, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
Playing seven volleyball matches in 10 days would be demanding for any athlete.
Doing it while touring another country made it all the more difficult, but Kori Moster wouldn't have wanted it any other way.
The senior libero was part of the U.S. Collegiate National Volleyball Team that toured China from June 17-27.
"I went there with almost no expectations," Moster said. "But the overall experience of it all was unbelievable."
Moster, MSU's all-time digs leader with 1,668, was one of 12 players selected for the team. She was the only Spartan invited to try out for the program back in February, where she had the opportunity to practice in front of the Team USA Olympic coaching staff.
The Cincinnati, Ohio, native said travel was hectic at first and forced her to adjust to the environment quickly, but it helped in the long run.
"It was crazy," she said of the travel. "The first two or three nights we didn't sleep in a bed. The day after we got into China we had a game to play, so it was a bit crazy trying to adjust."
Moster and Team USA flew overnight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong before departing for Shangahi. There, they traveled the city all day and took off for the Samning, a city in the Chinese mountains, before heading to Beijing to wrap the tour.
The Collegiate National Team went 5-2 during the trip, including a second-place finish in the Beijing Super Women's Volleyball Challenge. Their only losses came to Fujian, a professional team in Sanming, and the Chinese Junior National Team, which the US had beaten in three other matches.
Playing volleyball internationally required Moster to make some adjustments to her game, but it wasn't anything she couldn't overcome.
"[International teams] run a much faster offense, so adjusting to the speed was very different," the MSU captain said. "It seems so little, but internationally you play with a smaller ball, so it drops out more and when you pass, the ball is harder on your arms.
"I've developed that touch after so many years of playing here, so when you go somewhere else and it's completely different, it was a hard adjustment, especially when you play teams that know how to serve the ball."
Moster complimented USA Volleyball on how they were able to balance their on the court requirements with off - court experiences. She said that the combination of freedom to sightsee on her own and structure to stay focused on volleyball helped prepare her for a future professional career.
"I didn't know what kind of set up it would be, but I was surprised at how much freedom we had," Moster said. "They did a good job in allowing that freedom while also providing us with different experiences."
Moster and her teammates toured the Forbidden City, went to Tiananmen Square, and visited what she said was the best experience of the trip, the Great Wall of China.
"It was beautiful," she said of the Great Wall. "It was so cool to see. I feel like that's one thing everyone knows about but not many get to actually experience."
Chinese food and culture was a shock to her, but traveling often allowed her to try different experiences and see more sights. She had the `best breakfast of her life' while in Beijing, and ate more bananas and watermelon than ever before while in the mountains, as all fruit had to have a peel.
"It was interesting because everywhere we ate, it was family style food," she said. "So we got a big plate and everybody shared. For us, it was a normal amount of food but to them it was the highest end of things, so we showed our gratitude for it."
"The people were so sweet, too. They wanted to meet you and take a picture with you."
A natural leader, Moster was able to play a large part in helping the team come together in such a short amount of time. She said that the experience overseas helped prepare her for more of a leadership role than anything else has.
"I had to be a leader with people that I had never played with before and that's not always easy," the 2013 Academic All-Big Ten member said. "You have to have leadership in order to do well in that kind of tournament. That's what I was most excited about; I was able to be a leader even without it being my team that I've been playing with for so long.
Although Moster was only in China for 10 days, it opened her eyes to what professional volleyball would be like if given the opportunity. The two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year said that she hopes to play professionally after the collegiate season is over, but her ultimate dream is to play for Team USA.
"I needed that international experience just for volleyball after college," she said. "I feel like I have to do everything I want to now with [MSU] and when the time comes, hopefully I'll have provided myself with those opportunities."
