Name: Ben Hoover

Sport: Volleyball

Position: Libero/ Defensive Specialist

Year: Sophomore

Hometown: Minooka

High School: Minooka High School

Lily Goodfellow: When did you start playing volleyball?

Ben Hoover: I started playing volleyball, or I should say I tried to start playing, my freshman year in high school. But then Covid became a thing. So, I started my sophomore year of high school and then got really serious about it my junior year. That’s when I started to play. You can play for a school team and you can play for a private club team, so I did both of those.

LG: The libero is considered the defensive specialist on the team. How did you get that job?

BH: I definitely did not initially want to be a libero. Everyone was a little bit taller than I was, so they did a little bit better job in the front row than I did. So I kind of just got assigned that job by my coaches.

LG: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from a coach?

BH: Next point mentality. Like when you make a mistake, realize what you did wrong and then just move right on to the next point and try to fix it as fast as you can. Don’t dwell on things in the past.

LG: What are your greatest accomplishments in volleyball?

BH: I would say probably just being able to play in college. Right now I’m number one in the NJCAA for digs, so I’m pretty proud of that. So I’d say that too, for right now.

LG: How do you and your teammates make practice fun?

BH: Music, keeping it competitive, keeping it intense. Everybody there is a competitive athlete, that’s why they’re playing in college. So, I would say that just pushing each other and joking with each other, and just keeping it an intense practice keeps everything really fun.

LG: What is your biggest reason for wanting to be part of a team sport?

BH: Just the bonding. I absolutely love coming to the gym every single day and seeing the same people. I don’t want to say it’s an assigned group of people, but just coming in and meeting all these people with the same purpose and getting to work together with them all the time, and stuff like that, is really awesome.

LG: What is your favorite food?

BH: Sushi, for sure. 

LG: What’s your idea of a perfect weekend?

BH: Volleyball tournament in the mornings, and then either hanging out with friends or hanging out with my team at the end of the day. Maybe seeing my family after the tournament or something like that. Something with volleyball, something with socializing, and something with family. That’s perfect.

LG: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

BH: Somewhere tropical, for sure. Somewhere out of the country, like Bali or some nice resort in Indonesia. Something like that. Tropical with palm trees and jungles and beaches.

LG: What one word best describes you?

BH: One word? I think I would say easygoing. I think I’m just “going with the flow.” Maybe disorganized too. I don’t want to give myself a real positive word. I don’t want to toot my own horn. But I’m going to go easygoing. That’s my final answer. 

LG: Thank you very much, Ben. 

BH: Thank you, Lily.