Q&A with Simone Asque

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Junior Simone Asque, a two-time All-ACC honoree and 2010 preseason All-ACC selection, hosted this week’s edition of Virginia’s Cavalier Sports Weekly show. On the volleyball court, Asque leads the team in kills and aces, while she also leads the ACC in aces (0.38 per set) and is second in kills (4.09 per set).

This weekend, the Cavaliers will put their three-match win streak on the line, when they host Duke – undefeated in the ACC – and Wake Forest in Memorial Gymnasium. Virginia will face the Blue Devils on Friday at 7 p.m., before taking on the Demon Deacons Sunday at 1 p.m.

Question: The team picked up two more ACC wins this weekend. Do you feel that the team is starting to come together now that you’ve played some matches together and gotten over the hump of earning that first conference win?
Asque: I think that we have definitely jelled a lot more now that we have gotten some ACC wins. It feels good to play well and win as a team and we all can see where we want to go as a team.

Question: Duke comes into town this weekend at the top of the ACC standings. How important are these next two matches?
Asque: These next two matches are going to be huge for our team. We have the chance to improve our conference standings as well as put a loss on the top team.

Question: You carried a large offensive load the end of last season when injuries plagued the lineup. What is it like to have help offensively this year? Do you feel like it makes it easier for you to be successful?
Asque: Having more offensive threats this year has made it easier for me to be successful, as well as helped our team as a whole. Now when we run our offense, the opposing team is forced to respect all of our hitters instead of cheating to block one attacker. If they do cheat to one attacker, we are able to take advantage of it and terminate the ball with another hitter. A balanced attack is always better.

Question: How/what have you improved since the time you came to Virginia?
Asque: Basically everything has improved since I’ve come to Virginia. The coaches have worked with me on how to improve my game in every skill set and so far what they’ve been teaching me has been working! I almost can’t believe how far I’ve come since my first year, but then I remember the hours of hard work from myself, my coaches and my teammates, and it definitely makes sense.

Question: Is there something that you are still focusing on working to improve?
Asque: I feel like there will always be room for improvement, in every aspect of my game. But my passing and defense has always been an area needing the most work.

Quesiton: You were the anchor for Cavalier Sports Weekly this week. What was that experience like?
Asque: It was fun! I’ve never really done something like that before and it was really cool to be asked to do it.

Question: What was the most interesting thing about the experience?
Asque: The most interesting thing was driving around Grounds to get all of the shots for each segment. We were really efficient with our time and only in one place for a couple minutes before moving to the next location.

Question: What was the hardest thing you had to do?
Asque: It was hard to try and speak normally while trying to remember my lines. It is also different to be speaking to a camera instead of face-to-face to a person. At first I felt kind of awkward but it got easier as we kept going.

Question: Are you going to make the end of the year blooper reel?
Asque: Oh for sure! I definitely had a few awkward mess-ups here and there, but luckily I don’t think I have anything too embarrassing!