We asked the Big Red volleyball team's four seniors a series of questions as they finished the 2011 season. In addition to getting know them better, these reflections provide insight into Cornell and the Big Red volleyball program. Here are the six questions and what they had to say:

1. What is your favorite thing about Cornell?
RISA: The beautiful campus :)
MADELEINE: Annual Volleyball Formal on the lake.
JORDAN: Slope Day (an outdoor concert at the end of spring semester)
MEAGAN: Slope Day

2. What is your favorite thing about the Big Red Volleyball program?
RISA: The great volleyball players I've had the opportunity to play with.
MADELEINE: Coach Howley, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach.
JORDAN: Becoming really good friends with people who are incredibly different from myself. Girls who I may never have met are some of my best friends and I will forever have this connection with them. Being on a team and competing at this level is an experience that people can't understand unless they have done it. These girls have changed my life and I can't imagine what life would have been like without them.
MEAGAN: That my teammates are my best/life-long friends.

3. What has been the biggest surprise while here?
RISA: I now know the true meaning to Freezing!
MADELEINE: The time goes by so fast.
JORDAN: Hanging out in the library is socially acceptable.
MEAGAN: Being able to compete my senior year after 2 years of being injured.

4. If you were stranded on a desert island with any one of the 27 teammates that you have played with at Cornell, whom would it be and why?
RISA: Kelly Marble. We'd be chilling on her boat (which she will get from the money she'll be rolling in after graduation) and tanning on the beach.
MADELEINE: Meg because she is extremely resourceful, and we would obviously have an excellent time no matter how long we were stuck there.
JORDAN: Sarah Hunt, she would figure out a way to get us off the island.
MEAGAN: Madeleine, I figure being her roommate is fun so sharing an island would be awesome!

5. Do you have a favorite game or team moment with the team?
RISA: Breakfast with the team during Slope Day: Great weather, Great people, Great entertainment = Great time :)
MADELEINE: Senior Night's victory against Harvard.
JORDAN: Waking-up at six on a Saturday morning to help at the YMCA Triathlon. Alice, Tate, and I walked for about 45 minutes to get to our location. We got to see a lot of the Ithaca countryside, but we had to use our cell phones to make sure that we were still going in the right direction.
MEAGAN: The thing that stands out is the feeling of beating Harvard this season, because everyone played a huge role in that victory and we all put in so much effort and it finally paid off.

6. List three adjectives of you as a freshman and as a graduating senior:
RISA
Freshman: Timid, Quiet, and Cautious
Senior: Confident, Outspoken, and Strong
MADELEINE
Freshman: Scrawny, Determined, Observant
Senior: Resilient, Wise, Passionate
JORDAN
Freshman: Lost, Hungry, Lame
Senior: Perspective, Mindful, Reflective
MEAGAN
Freshman: Powerful, Goofy, Hard-Headed
Senior: Wise, Determined, Responsible