The BITS Pilani, Goa – volleyball team has been finding rhythm and playing at a high level in its season.

With a solid squad containing several new faces the volleyball team returning to the fold and looking to build on their banner 2018 volleyball campaign. In an interview with Fisto Sports, BITS Pilani volleyball team gave insights on their preparations, accomplishments, memorable comebacks and their views on the advancement of the sport in India.

Excerpt

Tell us little bit about your team. How’s thing going for the volleyball team so far and what’s your team plan for this year?

The team is perfectly balanced with players dedicating themselves to strict training regime. The team doesn’t have any biased selection and is only players with skills are included. So far the team practice is going pretty well with new players quickly adjusting to their positions. This year is going to be a new experience for many of our players and we only look forward to playing our best game.

Do you like playing indoor volleyball or beach volleyball more? Why?

Indoor volleyball takes priority as beach volleyball has many extra variables such as surface level, wind direction and speed.

Do you have any pregame ritual(s) that you do before every game?

We do a team hurdle to calm and tell ourselves to play the game with utmost efforts and do not let the ball go down on our side of the court.

How your team unwind when volleyball is over for the year?

Several casual meetings are held with team members (girls and boys) interacting with each other and having fun while also discussing how to proceed forward from now on to the next tournament.

Of all your accomplishments as your college volleyball team, is there a match or tournament that stands out in your mind? Why?

The match which is closest to our heart is the finals of BOSM 2017. After struggling so much and specially seeing our seniors who were playing their last game, we definitely had to make sure to put our utmost efforts to win. And in the end that’s what happened and we were crowned gold. The whole team was excited beyond words, as it was our first gold after so many years.

What’s the best match that your team ever played?

The semi-final of BOSM 2017 was the best game we ever played.

What do you think the Indian Volleyball community needs the most to succeed more at the international stage?

Popularity is a key factor which is lacking in Indian Volleyball community as it also comes with many side advantages such as sponsorships.

Who is the best libero and a defense specialist in your team?

Arvind Sahu is the best libero in our team.

Before the match, what’s the atmosphere like in the dressing room?

It’s not tense, but rather relaxed as everyone is focusing to go out in the best shape and whether we win or lose, we have to give our utmost efforts without a doubt.

What is in store during BOSM 2018, are there any teams that look really difficult to beat?

The upcoming BOSM 2018 is going to be fun and exhilarating and exciting. With our current preparation, there are at most 2-3 teams that might hinder us from obtaining gold.

Which of the opponent’s players do you admire the most?

Those who play fairly and speak with their strength while respecting the opponents.

What are some things about your team that people might be surprised to find out?

Surprising element is that we have almost new team this year.

Has there been a memorable comeback made by your team in any match?

Yes, I remember last year semi-final with Alumai team we won first two sets and then we loss the other two , the final set decide the team for finals that was an memorable match in which we won by 3-2.

Which college is your biggest rival team and do you have any memorable moment against them? If yes, explain.

None, we just play friendly with every teams we come across there is, no such issue happened yet. Some small incidents always happen but that doesn’t counts rival.  

Squad

    Rohit Mandar Heet Gala Aabhas Asawa Het Gala Sanchit Lakra Nihal Tiwari Abhishek Kumar Tirumala rao seepana Arvind Sahu Shivam Singh Shubham Singh Samanvay Lamba Arjun Choudhary Yash          Bansal Jeet Yadav Siddhart Goel Siddhart Singh Raghav Ishan Gupta