Off to Division I After stellar year at WNCC, Fava ready for Nebraska-Omaha

Erica Fava is ready for the Division I level as a member of the University of Nebraska Omaha and the WNCC former All-American is ready for the Division I level with a new position.

Fava said she is enjoying her new home in Omaha and her new position.

“UNO is an amazing place and I’m so glad I’m here,” she said. “I made the right decision!”

UNO will have an exhibition game on Saturday, August 19, before having an home tournament on August 25 and 26 against Texas A&M and Kansas.

“I just got a memory today from a year ago and we were on the bus going to Iowa Western for our first tournament and it’s crazy to think about because we didn’t know how good our team would’ve been and how successful we would’ve been!”

— Erica Fava

The big game for Fava will be on Wednesday, August 30 when the Mavericks will play Nebraska at Memorial Stadium in Volleyball Day. The match will be played outside on the football field.

“Omaha is treating me super good and I love Omaha and I’m happy to be here. Of course all of us are super excited to play at Memorial Stadium, it’ll be an amazing experience to be part of and I’m just grateful that I’ll be able to be part of that and I can’t wait.”

Fava added that while she was an allaround player for WNCC the last two years as a key outside hitter, made the move to being an libero. She is taking that new role and learning what it takes to be a libero.

“I’m working everyday to get used to playing in that new position and see the court in a different way,” Fava said. “It was very hard to make different moves on the court and see everything from a different view but practicing twice a day for the past two weeks definitely helped and i can say i feel more comfortable now.

The Mavericks will have a young team with just three seniors. Fava said this team has a lot of talent on it with a lot of depth.

“Everyone is super talented and the level is very high,” she said “I’m lucky to be here and to be able to play with these amazing players and amazing people.”

Coming from WNCC, Fava has had to adapt with different way things are done. She also has to adapt to making new friends.

“Everything is different,” she said. “The way we practice, the way we lift. Our preseason is totally different and the level in the gym is much higher.”

The biggest different is not seeing her teammates from a year ago, where nine sophomores moved on to the four-year level.

“It’s super hard because we were all very close and I miss all of them and our JUCO days and all of the things we did together.,” Fava said. “I just got a memory today from a year ago and we were on the bus going to Iowa Western for our first tournament and it’s crazy to think about because we didn’t know how good our team would’ve been and how successful we would’ve been!”

The thing that is helping Fava is she stayed in Omaha over the summer to get ready for the season.

“I’ve been in Omaha all summer lifting and practicing to get ready for preseason,” she said. “I’ve been getting used to the new place and getting to know all my new teammates!”

Her goal is simple this year, she wants to make the NCAA tournament.

“My goal for this years is to become a good libero,” she said. “I also want to win our conference tournament and go to the NCAA tournament.”

— Written by Mark Rein