by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
Some people go to Mexico in the summer for vacation. Kristin Carpenter goes to Mexico for gold medals.
Hanover’s star volleyball player returned early Tuesday morning after helping the U.S. Junior National Team to the NORCECA Continental championship with a straight set victory over the Dominican Republic, avenging the United States’ only loss of the tourney.
The visit to Saltillo, Mexico was a thrill for the Penn State-bound senior.
“It was probably the best I’ve ever been a part of,” Carpenter said. “It was the best volleyball I’ve ever played and seen. The girls I played with are truly unforgettable.”
Carpenter played the unaccustomed position of libero. The 5-7 leaper is Hanover’s main scoring option, and one of the top point producers for her Richmond Volleyball Club team.
But when you are the shortest person on the team by three inches, and some of your team’s hitters are 6-3, 6-4 and even 6-6, you find another way to showcase your skills.
And Carpenter did just that, registering 13 excellent serve receptions on 19 attempts in the final.
“I was kind of surprised because I thought I knew pretty much all there was to know about volleyball,” said Carpenter, who’s played for as long as she can remember. “But the new coach [three-time Olympian Paula Weishoff] taught me stuff that just improved my game tremendously. It was a whole lot different though because I was the starting libero, unlike last year when I set for the national team.
“So playing a new position is cool, yet quite humbling at the same time.”
For its effort in the tournament, the U.S. also grabbed a berth into 2009’s FIVB Junior World Championship.
So when Carpenter tells you she’s going somewhere for the summer in 2009, expect something back … like another medal.
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