Lunte: What are your thoughts of breaking the digs record your freshman year?
O’Toole: Well I thought it was pretty exciting when I was playing the game. I didn’t really think about breaking a record. I was just kind of out there doing my job playing, and breaking a record was just a bonus. It was nice to hear.
Lunte: Does it mean much to you?
O’Toole: It means a lot to me. I think that getting that 50 digs was good because I didn’t really know about it. Hearing about it was a bonus.
Lunte: What were some of your goals coming into this season?
O’Toole: I wanted to be able to go out there and play and contribute to the team as much as I could.
Lunte: Is that basically the goal?
O’Toole: I wanted to contribute as much as I could. Whether it would be on the court, or off the court. Whether I’m playing, I want to help out the team. If I’m not playing, I’ll cheer my team on, tell them what they can do to be better.
Lunte: Did you have any personal goals?
O’Toole: I did set my serve receive goal for not having a less than 10 serve receive errors, and less than five serve errors.
Lunte: So, the Olympics are coming up. Did you have a professional volleyball player you looked up to? Or any other athlete?
O’Toole: I would probably say Misty May and Kerri Walsh because they were sand volleyball players. I enjoy playing sand volleyball, and watching them was very cool.
Lunte: What do you love about sand volleyball?
O’Toole: It’s just a different type of game. It’s still volleyball, but it’s just a lot different, like sand, and an actual court.
Lunte: What is your relationship like with your sister, Allie?
O’Toole: We’ve grown up all of our lives together. We’re best friends. We tell each other everything. Through volleyball, we help each other out. If one of us is down, then we help each other out, and tell each other what we need to do. I’ve looked up to her just through volleyball because she’s a hard worker, and it’s something I want to do, too. Our relationship is great.
Lunte: Did Allie have an influence for you coming to Webster?
O’Toole: She did. I did want to play volleyball with her again because we played volleyball in high school together, and we’ve also played club volleyball together. So just getting to play again with her in college is awesome.
Lunte: Did you look into any other colleges aside from Webster?
O’Toole: Not really. I was just settled on Webster. I looked at a few, but Webster was my number one because I did want to play volleyball, because if I went somewhere else, I don’t think volleyball would have been an option. I just wanted to continue playing.
Lunte: Do you like any other sports?
O’Toole: I like basketball. I actually love watching basketball. I used to play basketball my whole life, and then I stopped. But I do enjoy watching it. I especially like watching college basketball.
Lunte: Why did you stop playing basketball?
O’Toole: I kind of just wasn’t feeling it anymore. I just liked volleyball better, and I wanted to pursue volleyball more than basketball.
Lunte: How big of an influence did your dad have on you?
O’Toole: He had a big influence because he knows a lot about volleyball, and if we’re having a bad game or something, he could give us tips and help us out. He just knows a lot about the game, so he can always help us, and he was a big influence, I think.
Lunte: What do you think about parents coaching their children in a sport they’re really into?
O’Toole: It could be a good thing and a bad thing because sometimes I feel like when my dad would coach me, he was a little harder on me than the other players, just because I was his daughter. He didn’t mean anything, but he was just a little harder on me just to go the extra step.
Lunte: Was he the same way with Allie (O’Toole)?
O’Toole:Yes, definitely because when we played together, you know it was the O’Toole sisters, and their dad as the coach, and yeah. I think he did push us the extra step, but I mean he still pushed the other players.
Lunte: What do you like doing outside of volleyball?
O’Toole: I like shopping a lot. I like hanging out with my friends.
Lunte: What do you like to get when you’re shopping?
O’Toole: Lots of clothes. That’s the main thing. That’s what I look for when I shop.
-Reporting by Scott Lunte
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