Beach Volleyball’s Wayne Holly Reflects on Summer with USA Volleyball
Sep 19, 2016 | Women's Beach Volleyball
While summer may be considered the offseason for most college beach volleyball programs, Tulane's head beach volleyball coach Wayne Holly spent his break on the job. After wrapping up the team's winningest season in Tulane history with a 20-15 record last May, Holly made his way to the sunny sands of California to coach the USA Juniors Beach National Team throughout their summer training.
"It's always an honor to be selected to coach and positively influence the next generation of USA athletes," Holly said. "I'm thankful to USA Volleyball for the opportunity and to Tulane for affording me the flexibility to do such rewarding work."
USA Volleyball, the national governing body for volleyball in the United States, is responsible for the USA National Men's and Women's Teams, the USA Olympic Teams and the USA Youth and Junior National Teams. By working with these teams, Holly was able to help beach players train to reach their goals – competing for the senior national teams, with hopes of someday earning an Olympic bid.
Holly began coaching with this year's teams in late June, starting with the summer's first training camp in Hermosa Beach, Calif. Several training blocks and additional training camps would follow, all leading up to the U.S. National Championship July 13-14.
This is not Holly's first rodeo – he has been working with the USA Juniors for several years now. The experience is valuable for him as a college coach, as he gets the opportunity to develop younger athletes into high-level competitors while his Tulane squad is in the offseason.
Holly returns to Tulane this fall armed with another summer of experience coaching for USA Volleyball, welcoming three newcomers to Tulane's beach volleyball program. Freshman Kaylie McHugh, Tulane's starting libero on the indoor courts, is also a star on the sand. She played club ball with the Florida Suns with teammate Briana Correa and has over a dozen top finishes to her name in her prep career.
Cali Bunn, another incoming player, recently received High School All-America Honors for her performance on the sand with her prep team. She lettered all four years at Cathedral Catholic High School and qualified for the 18 AAU Junior Olympics, earning a slew of top-three finishes in the California Beach Volleyball Association along the way.
Rounding out the freshman trio is Tarin Mergener out of Midlothian, Texas. In her high school years, Mergener received invitations to the USA Volleyball Beach High Performance Camp on two occasions and notched a runner-up finish at the USA Volleyball Junior National Indoor 16 Open Division. She also played in the Gold bracket at the AAU Beach Volleyball Nationals.
Though the beach volleyball season doesn't start until the spring, Holly and his team are hard at work readying themselves for another winning year. The team spends the offseason doing high-intensity workouts on the sand and improving technique before the real competition begins. With this year's new additions and the return of seniors Tea Juric and Sarah Strasner, the future is bright for Tulane beach volleyball.
Fans can follow the Tulane beach volleyball team on Twitter (@GreenWaveBeach) or find the team on Facebook.
