June 2, 2017
Rising junior Brenna McIlroy has been the team's top attacker on the court, leading the squad in kills in her first two seasons. The outside hitter from Garland, Texas, is spending the summer on The Plains and took time to catch up with AuburnTigers.com.
Q: What do your pre-game rituals consist of?
A: "We get up and do a serve and pass as a team. It's really chill. It's really laid back. You just go in and get your hands on a ball and do what you feel like you need to do before the game. After serve and pass, we go and have our pregame meal. That's the whole part of being a team. We will watch film after pregame meal. Then after that, we usually have about two hours of down time. For me, I don't know if I really have rituals. I'm usually pretty chill on game days. I end up normally having to go to treatment (currently rehabbing fractured knee). I love pickles, so I'm always eating pickles. It makes me feel like I get energy. I don't think I really do anything superstitious other than having to do my hair the same way every game. I always stick my extra hair tie in my knee pad. I do it because my hair ties pop all the time so I guess have to, so I guess it's become a superstition over time."
Q: What are your hobbies outside of volleyball?
A: I love to read and I love children. If I can babysit, I would love that. I like to read anything that's not the norm. Fantasy wise, something I can get sucked into. I'm a Harry Potter fan. Growing up, my sister and brother were die-hard Star Wars fans (scoffs at the idea of it). They have all the books and everything in the Star Wars galaxy.
Q: What is your most memorable event in your volleyball career?
A: Definitely playing Penn State or beating Florida because that Florida game was just so much fun. They were No. 11, so that was a big win for us. It was more fun because I felt like we beat them when they were playing their best. They didn't have any players down and we still beat them. We played Penn State and that was pretty fun. I grew up watching that team when they won like seven national titles in a row. It was ridiculous! When we played them, I had a good game. I think I had really good numbers.
Q: When did you start playing volleyball?
A: I want to say second grade, maybe first. My two older sisters played volleyball when I was growing up, so I knew I was always going to play. I played every other sport also.
Q: What words of advice do you carry with you throughout the season?
A: Personally, 'No pain, no gain.' That's my main thing. I fight through anything. Pain is in the back of my mind. That's how my dad raised me.
Q: Coming from Texas, what brought you to Auburn?
A: I wanted to be far away from home. I love my family but I just wanted to get a fresh start and do my own thing. I had never been in the Southeast. This was the first place I visited and I loved it. I loved how the campus looked. I loved the environment. Being an SEC school, that's just awesome. Back in the day, I didn't really understand it but now I definitely do. The SEC atmosphereÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦I love it.
Q: What's the biggest difference(s) between Texas and Alabama?
A: People from Texas are always gung-ho, like Texas is the best. It's huge there. It's always hot. But then again it gets hot here too. I feel like the Southeast is just a different environment. Everyone back in Texas is either a UT (University of Texas) or A&M (Texas A&M University) and it's weird coming here and everyone is either Alabama or Auburn. There are no professional sports teams here. Professional sports are such a big deal in Texas.
Q: Pursuing a degree in the College of Education, what kind of career are you pursuing?
A: I love children. I am studying special education. I want to get my master's degree probably before I end up going in the field, but I'm not sure yet. At some point I was to get my master's degree so I can specialize in the type of kids that I will work with. When I graduate, I will be certified for kindergarten through 12th grade, so I will have a lot of leeway in which grade I want to go into, but I want to go into middle school and maybe high school. I want to work with kids with more severe and profound disabilities. I would love to work in self-contained class so I can teach them life skills and teach them to be more independent. That's kind of what I want to do. I would definitely want to be in special education.
Q: What is your favorite class?
A: I took this class last semester, Foundations 3000, and it was about diversity in the classroom. It was so interesting with the things we talked about in class. For that class we had to do a service learning outside of class. I worked at a preschool here in Auburn that integrates special education children with model peers. It was a really great experience to be able to work with that for a whole semester.
Q: Outside of volleyball, what's your favorite Auburn sporting event to attend?
A: I don't want to say football because a quarter in I get tired of standing up. I would rather watch it on TV. I really enjoy the basketball games. I'm a big basketball fan. My dad played basketball in college, so I grew up watching it. It's fast paced, which I like.
Q: What team goals have been set for the 2017 season?
A: Win the SEC. We want to push as far as we can in the SEC. A team goal for sure is to make it to the NCAA Tournament this year. We had a great spring, though, I wasn't a part of it because of my surgery. Even if it was just sitting on the sidelines, I think everyone got better, whether it was in the weight room or on the volleyball court. We set so many goals to push ourselves this spring and I think this fall is going to be really good. The mentality is to carry that through into the fall. To keep getting better. To keep working hard and bringing that endurance we built up.
Q: What are your personal goals for the 2017 season?
A: I want to be a leader by example on the team, so just making sure I push myself in every practice. In the classroom, just trying to push myself to do my best. I would definitely like to have a better season than last season statistically. I would like to have a better hitting average. I would love for that to be higher than last year.
Q: What is your favorite Netflix show?
A: Orange is the New Black. It really sucks me in. I love it.
Q: Did you give your dad a hard time about defeating Stephen F. Austin in your first game at Auburn? (Father played college basketball at Stephen F. Austin).
A: Of course I gave him a hard time. It was really funny when our schedule came out and he was like look who you're playing first. It was awesome and we beat them. It was so fun. Everyone makes fun of me here because I love Stephen F. Austin. I grew up seeing the campus and thinking it was awesome.
For the latest on Auburn volleyball, follow @AuburnVB on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AuburnVB.