‘You think you know it all.’ Kentucky volleyball trio humbled by lessons at Team USA camp.

Elise Goetzinger, Reagan Rutherford and Adanna Rollins have experienced college volleyball at the highest level the sport has to offer.

So it was surprising to hear some of their comments this week upon returning from a summer trip to California.

The three University of Kentucky athletes were part of a group of 38 of the country’s top collegiate players chosen last February to take part in the USA Volleyball Collegiate National Team camp in Anaheim.

Goetzinger and Rutherford, both rising juniors, were freshmen on Kentucky’s 2020-21 national championship team. Rollins, an All-American taking advantage of her fifth season of eligibility afforded by the pandemic, arrives at UK this season after three seasons at Minnesota and one at Penn State — both perennial national powers.

Despite all those experiences, a week observing Team USA training sessions, studying the team’s systems and meeting with Tokyo 2020 Olympians was eye-opening.

“There’s so much you can learn from the sport of volleyball,” said Rutherford, an opposite hitter for the Cats. “I’ve been playing for 13 years now. You think you know it all, but you learn from these Olympians that have been playing volleyball for over 17 years. There’s always more that you can add to your game.”

The camp offered athletes new perspectives on volleyball basics and leadership skills from some of the country’s best coaches and professional players.

In terms of fundamentals, Goetzinger specifically mentioned how her serving improved after the camp.

“I think my serving wasn’t super consistent going in, and they showed us a new way to serve that we had never heard of before,” said Goetzinger, a 6-foot-4 middle blocker. “I think that improved a lot coming out of camp.”

The biggest benefit from the camp was the mental and leadership training the athletes received.

“My biggest takeaway would probably be the mindset training,” said Rollins, an outside hitter, before mentioning how former Olympian Courtney Thompson emphasized the importance of positive self-talk on the court.

The three Wildcats were joined on the Collegiate National Team by Paige Briggs of Western Kentucky and six rivals from the Southeastern Conference — Merritt Beason, Gabrielle Essix, Breanna Kelley and Elizabeth McKissock of Florida, Anna Dixon of Missouri and Morgahn Fingall of Tennessee. Rob Browning of St. Mary’s was the head coach.

Goetzinger and Rutherford, who have spent their entire collegiate careers at UK and are now among the squad’s most experienced players, highlighted the extensive leadership training at the camp.

“We had a lot of sessions where coaches talked to us about how we can commit to our team, not just on the court but off the court,” Rutherford said.

Now that the three athletes are back in Lexington, they are continuing with their preparations for the upcoming season by reflecting on the last year. Kentucky opens its 2022 campaign Aug. 26 against Marquette.

“This past year was a little bit different because our experience of volleyball and the season was from the year prior,” Goetzinger said, referencing UK’s 2021 national title season. “We lost one game all that season. We won the national championship. Like that was what seemed normal to us. Going into last year and having only the fall season, not doing super well in the postseason, and losing during conference were all things that were new to us and I think we were kind of shocked at what that felt like.”

UK went 25-5-1 last season and won its fifth consecutive SEC championship. The Wildcats were installed as the No. 7 overall seed in the 64-team NCAA Tournament field but were eliminated by unseeded Illinois in the second round by a 3-1 score.

Goetzinger, along with the other returning members from last year’s squad, are determined to prevent a repeat of last season’s mistakes.

“Now we know what losing feels like,” she said. “We know how important conference games are. So we’re taking those seriously and translating that to the younger group, putting emphasis on how important those things are.”