I didn't want to use anything as a crutch and ever have excuses heading into a match.

The first thing I do when I get there—like all of the players on tour—is apply sunscreen. One of the few hazards of the job is the wear-and-tear our skin takes from the sun.

No volleyball play can begin without a serve, and the serve is the only technique that is totally under your control. In other endeavors, you cannot succeed without believing in yourself, and that belief is completely under your control.

I never did. I only prepared to win the next day.

The indoor game is much more of a team game, having to work effectively with a group of 15 to 20 people, striving to improve every day, every drill, even every contact. The beach game is much more of an individual game within a team sport, much less about organized practices with coaches and much more about just playing the game.

I couldn't be messing around and acting like an 11-year-old if we expected to compete well. I wanted to compete well, because it was great to see the looks in the eyes of men—like, "Wow, I am having a hard time beating this kid."

It's a serve and pass game.