Technique: What do you attribute to your recent success?
Hunter: I look at a mentality that I take into every single game; you have to go into it tough. I never think about the outcome and hoping to make All-Tournament team. It’s more about getting the wins and being successful as a team.
Technique: Do you prepare any differently for a conference game versus a non-conference one?
Hunter: Our team has put a lot of focus on our preparation because you can’t win without preparation. I start preparing the night before, the day of. I have a different preparation plan an hour before. But I don’t do anything differently. I look at every single game and team with the same preparation and just go in with a strong mentality.
Technique: How old were you when you started playing volleyball?
Hunter: I was eight or nine. I remember my knee pads and spandex didn’t fully fit on me and I was just like this skinny little tall girl who couldn’t pass the ball. I was on the 12 year old team for like four years before I actually turned 12, and then I progressed through the system. But I’ve been playing forever.
Technique: What do you miss the most about being home?
Hunter: I miss the mountains. I’m from a beautiful area in western North Carolina called Hendersonville. The mountains, the environment, it’s just so natural and beautiful.
Technique: What skill do you think is the most important to success at your position?
Hunter: Being tough. I’m an outside hitter and I play six rotations I’m going to get served 80% of the balls and so I’m going to start the play 80% of the time.
Technique: Which teammate would you say makes the biggest impact on your game?
Hunter: Every single play I’m beside Nicki Meyer, and we have developed such a strong chemistry that she’s one of the first people that I look to every play. She’s passing beside me or covering me when I’m hitting and she knows a really nice and unique way of pulling me out of funks when I’m not playing well.
Technique: What do you plan on doing after Tech?
Hunter: I’m hoping to play professionally, keep volleyball going, and after that I’ve been trying to dial down on what I want to do with my life. I’d enjoy sports broadcasting. I’m pretty knowledgeable in all sports, played every one of them and I have two brothers, so we’re a pretty well-rounded family.
Technique: What’s your favorite thing to do in Atlanta?
Hunter: I love going to Piedmont Park and being outside and walking around and seeing people. Atlanta’s such a melting pot of so many different cultures. I love taking that all in and meeting different people.
Technique: If there was one rule in volleyball you could change, what would it be?
Hunter: I really get annoyed with net calls. I know they’re important because you don’t want to go through the net and break the others girl’s ankle but they’re so tedious and small … they’re just annoying.
Technique: What are your personal and team goals for the season?
Hunter: For the team, I see us winning the ACC. It’s our season; it’s our year. We’ve worked incredibly hard this spring and summer and preseason. They were all a combination of things. Usually it’s three separate periods, but they all ran together because we had the same goals and mentalities. The coaches never let up; we were working our tails off every single day whether it was sprinting or in the weight room or working out in practice. Personally, I’m going for ACC Player of the Year. I’m working for that, that’s my goal [as well as being an All-American]. I deserve that; I’ve worked really hard and I think I can do it.