Trojan Candy arrived at the Lab Gastropub Restaurant right at 4:00 pm for the Beach Volleyball Kickoff. Every guest was given a lei to wear. I put my stuff down near where brother-in-law Dudley Poon and sister Patti were sitting.
Immediately, I met a new Beach Volleyball (BVB) player. She was selling raffle tickets. Her name is Alexandra Poletto. She is a graduate student who matriculated from Colorado State where she majored in Sports Medicine. She is working on her USC Master's degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovations. More personally, Alexandra started playing volleyball when she was fourteen. Her hobbies are hiking, skiing, baking and cooking. Alexandra told me that she doesn't have a favorite food....she likes to eat everything. Her favorite television programs are "How to Get Away with Murder," "Scandal" and "Now You See It." As for music, Alexandra likes electronic and R and B music. FIGHT ON, Alexandra! Yes, Trojan Candy did buy raffle tickets from her.
Now it was time to interview any more new BVB players.
Next, I interviewed Freshman Haley Hallgren. Haley is from South Lake, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Haley started playing Beach Volleyball in the 6th grade. She is majoring in Business Administration and said that she chose USC because it "felt like home." More personally, Haley likes Italian food. Her favorite music is by Matchbook 20 and Train. Haley's favorite movie is "The Shawshank Redemption," and her favorite television shows are "This is It" and "Feels Like Home." FIGHT ON, Haley!
Nearby, Athletic Director Lynn Swann posed, without protest, for a picture for me. Maybe, because his wife Charena and I were talking.
Friend Bill Bau gladly posed with Alexandra Poletto and Tina Graudina.
Luckily, I was able to interview Freshman Tina Graudina next. Tina is from Jurmala, Latvia. She is majoring in Political Science. Her favorite food is all kinds of fruit. She didn't mention any favorite movies or television shows, but her favorite book is the "Harry Potter" Series.
She told me that she has been reading Harry Potter books since she was five years old. Trojan Candy is not sure if Tina understood my question about her hobby. Tina told me that her hobby is volleyball. I am sure glad that she chose to be a Trojan! FIGHT ON, Tina!
Trojan Candy walked around looking for more BVB players. I found two USC Volleyball Alumnae talking with friend Louis Wong. Katie Fuller and Alexis Olgard posed with Louis.
I found two more Freshmen players standing with Joy Dennis. Sammy Slater and Maja Kaiser are both incoming Freshmen.
Trojan Candy did something she has never done before. I interviewed Sammy and Maja at the same time!
I'll write about Sammy Slater first. Sammy is from Ventura, California. She started playing indoor volleyball when she was eight and switched to BVB when she was twelve. Sammy's favorite food is sushi. Her favorite movie is "Shutter Island." For her hobby, she plays the ukulele. Sammy's favorite musicians are "Beach House." FIGHT ON, Sammy!
Maja Kaiser is from the tiny city of Bulverde, Texas. She told me that Bulverde is right outside San Antonio. That makes three Texans on the roster! Sophomore Lainy Thomas is from Frisco, Texas. Trojan Candy is a Texan also...born and raised in Houston, Texas! Now, more about Maja. She started playing indoor volleyball when she was nine years old and switched to BVB when she was thirteen years old. Maja's favorite food is pizza. Her favorite movie is "Napoleon Dynamite." Maja's hobby is taking care of her four dogs. Her favorite music is alternative and "dream pop" Beach House music. FIGHT ON, Maja!
I finished my double interview just in the nick of time. Head Coach Anna Collier gathered her team for the introductions. Meet the 2018 Women of Troy Beach Volleyball Team and Coaches.
Here is an almost too close-up picture of our 2018 Beach Volleyball Team. I couldn't move back to take the picture because there were lots of people standing behind me.
By now, the USC Pep Band had arrived. I walked to the south gate exit to walk around to take a picture.
That is where Trojan Candy saw a very dear friend. Tara Strange was sitting next to her daughter Alexa. Tara told me that she is writing a children's book now on her computer. That is quite an accomplishment....since Tara is totally blind. I wanted to talk more, but I had to get the picture.
Trojan Candy was too cold, and I wanted to go into the warm Galen Center to see the Women of Troy Basketball game against Utah.
FIGHT ON, USC Women of Troy Beach Volleyball Team!