Coach Anna Prillaman called to one of her players and the rest of the team responded with "Turkey, Turkey, Turkey."
The team wasn't getting an early start on Thanksgiving. It was calling to unsung hero Lale Herguner, who came to the team two years ago from Istanbul, Turkey.
Herguner was born in Richmond, but moved to Turkey, where she has lived most of her life.
"My father is Turkish, so I moved over there," she said, wearing a black shirt with "Turkey" written across the back in white block lettering. "I moved back when my brother went to college at Lehigh."
Herguner's father owns a law firm in Turkey and still is there, while her mother, who attended St. Catherine's, has family in the Richmond area. Lale said when she moved here, she didn't know that branch of the family well, but has enjoyed getting to know them.
Turkey is seven hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone, so Herguner and her father set aside special time to talk.
"We have our phone conversations in the mornings," she said. "He really wants to see me, but it just doesn't work with his schedule. I miss him, but he was here just a week ago."
Herguner said while Turkey is culturally different from life in the United States, she enjoyed growing up there.
"I loved it there. I went to an all Turkish school and spoke Turkish. English was taught like French is taught (here)," she said. "It was just culturally different."
Volleyball turned out to be key in making the transition to St. Catherine's much easier.
"I think what made (the move) easy was that the volleyball team was in preseason conditioning, so I was able to meet people right away," she said. "What I was surprised by was that people were interested about Turkey and when I told them they were like 'Really? That's so cool.' I wasn't expecting that."
According to Prillaman, Herguner is a role player who is important to the team for her enthusiasm.
"She's one of those kids that no matter what you ask of her, she does it with a smile on her face," Prillaman said. "She's never one to complain about playing time."
Herguner also plays softball, a sport she had never heard of until a friend brought her along to try out.
"It was really cool, because I knew what baseball was," she said. "My friend actually forced me to play, because she really wanted to. I wanted to learn something new. When I started playing, I really enjoyed it.
"I love volleyball, but I've noticed I'm pretty good at softball."
While playing volleyball in Turkey and in the United States isn't that much different, according to Herguner, she needed to update her lexicon.
"It's not very different, except the positions are Turkish," she said. "So, when I came here I was calling them the Turkish positions, which didn't work out. I forget the English terms here and there, but I've adjusted."
Herguner's quest for an LIS title would be her second with the team.
"This year, we're a good team, not just because we are playing well, but because we talk and really get along as a team without getting mad at each other," she said.
