After what she called the hardest hike of her life, Reeves found herself awestruck, peering off the ledge of the Great Wall of China.
As the lone UCLA Bruin selected to the inaugural Pac-12 women’s volleyball all-star team, the rising senior outside hitter joined 12 other players on a two-week tour of China to compete against several professional Chinese teams.
“China was incredible, everything was so different,” Reeves said. “It’s just a thrill being in a different country. You really have no idea what’s going on, you can’t even read the freeway signs.”
The language barrier didn’t stop Reeves from getting a taste of Chinese culture. She said what stood out most to her was the food, since she had never sampled items like eel and liver.
As a history student, Reeves was already familiar with some of the major landmarks on the itinerary.
Even with her classroom knowledge, Reeves said she couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of some of Beijing’s most famous sites: the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Great Wall of China.
“You read about (the Great Wall) in history books and you see all the pictures, and you just go, oh, it looks cool,” Reeves said. “But when you’re actually climbing it, it’s like, are you kidding me, what’s going on? It was so beautiful and probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done, I was just blown away. It was unreal.”
As the coach of the all-star team, USC women’s volleyball coach Mick Haley wanted the players to do exactly what Reeves did – enjoy the new experience.
“I think our Pac-12 athletes and the conference will benefit from the competition and the cultural exchange,” Haley said. “What’s exciting about this trip is the experience of new foods, different rules, differing styles of play and of the course the opportunity to make new friends.”
While their tour of China made for scenic pictures and memories, Reeves took full advantage of the opportunity to play against a new set of competitors.
“It’s just a different game than what we get here in America, the system is so much quicker,” Reeves said. “I kind of like it personally; I thrive in it.”
Even though the all-star team did not win any of its matches, Reeves said she remained positive by keeping it all in perspective. She said she thought that the professional Chinese teams had much better chemistry and more experienced players. Some even played on the Chinese Olympic team.
Faced with opponents who practiced and competed together year-round, the all-star team was comprised of girls from 11 different schools who had only practiced together three times before their trip.
Even so, the players kept games close, losing by a few points while gaining valuable on-court experience.
“I think this was a great opportunity to take my game to the next level,” Reeves said. “It’ll help me for the fall with UCLA and also down the road when I want to go play internationally as well. Just getting that exposure kind of helps me get ready for my future.”
One of her UCLA teammates, rising senior defensive specialist Meg Norton, hopes Reeves will be able to use the experiences from the trip to help the Bruins next season.
“I’m sure that she was able to grow as a player, and it will definitely help us grow as a team as well,” Norton said. “And I’m sure that she was able to learn a lot, especially playing with different girls.”
Reeves said she enjoyed the opportunity to play alongside girls she normally competes against.
Going into the trip, Reeves already had a general understanding of each player’s tendencies from scouting reports and the on-court experience from playing against each player many times. But after two weeks, her knowledge about her teammates expanded from solely their tendencies, and friendships formed from traveling and competing together.
“We bonded pretty well these past two weeks, but come fall when we’re on the court, it’s go time, baby,” Reeves said. “It’ll be fun, we’ll be leaving it all out on the court and staring each other down.”
