In her first year at the Capstone, sophomore setter Andrea McQuaid is a serious competitor. McQuaid transferred to Alabama after her freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. She has grown throughout the season and proved she is a big asset for the Crimson Tide.

The Crimson White: You started out at Oklahoma. Why did you decide to transfer to Alabama?

Andrea McQuiad: The position they had at OU wasn’t going to give me a chance to play until my junior year. Volleyball is really important to me and I wanted to play as much as I could and I figured I could play somewhere else. Then coach [Ed] Allen got a hold of me and it all fell into place.

CW: Did you ever play against coach Allen while he was at Tulsa?

AM: Actually, we played them in the Sweet Sixteen…and we beat him.

CW: Do you hold that over him?

AM: Not very often, but it’s funny.

CW: You said volleyball’s important to you; is volleyball included in any of your future plans?

AM: I want to play overseas when I graduate. I’m not 100 percent sure on everything, but I do want to play overseas. Some of the contracts can be a little sketchy, but if you get a good agent it’s okay.

CW: Your dad and other family members played basketball in college. Did you ever have an interest in it?

AM: I played basketball for a little bit, but my dad’s a basketball coach and I got tired of my dad coaching me and my coach coaching me, so I kind of got into volleyball because my dad didn’t know much about it. He couldn’t tell me what I did wrong after the games.

CW: What’s your favorite thing to do outside of volleyball?

AM: I love to shop. I’m such a girl. I have to manage my money wisely because if I don’t put it in my savings, I spend it on clothes.

CW: What is your favorite song at the moment?

AM: “Move Chick” by Ludacris. That is my song right now. We all get so pumped in the locker room to that. We’ll all be jumping around, it’s pretty funny. I joke that I’m going to rap it on the instrumental and put it on YouTube, so look for that.