Rousseau’s skills about more than just her size
Alexa Rousseau Alexa Rousseau has been gifted with some natural talents to be a volleyball standout. However, she hasn’t rested on those gifts and is working to become a complete player. The 6-foot-3, left-handed 2020 setter has taken more big…
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Continue ReadingAlexa Rousseau has been gifted with some natural talents to be a volleyball standout.
However, she hasn’t rested on those gifts and is working to become a complete player.
The 6-foot-3, left-handed 2020 setter has taken more big steps in the last calendar year, developing her overall game while also becoming more of a vocal leader for her club and prep squads.
“Alexa runs our offense and she scores a lot of points for us offensively. She’s a very talented, 6-foot-3, left-handed setter. You don’t see that very often and you really saw a lot of growth from her in terms of play and in terms of leadership,” Rousseau’s coach at Legacy 16-Elite, Jennifer Cottrill said.
Rousseau’s growth in volleyball has been quite impressive considering she started playing at age 12. A soccer player in her youth, Rousseau decided to give volleyball a try given her length.
She originally started as a right side and was able to play above the net, but shortly into her playing career the move to setter became a natural fit.
“It was a big transition for me, but because a setter has more control of the game and is put in a leadership position, I really embraced the opportunity,” Rousseau said of moving to setter. “I fell in love with the sport once I became a setter because I loved my role on the team and being part of a family.”
A 6-3 setter isn’t common in volleyball, but Rousseau is changing that. Her size has proven to be a perfect fit for the role.
“My height definitely helps me with blocking and I also have a higher window when I set, which allows me to be more deceptive,” she said. “I think it has helped me develop my game at a quicker pace.”
Rousseau runs a 5-1 which puts her all over the floor. She has worked hard on her passing, blocking and attacks to compliment her setting. The fact that she is left-handed also gives her an edge over other setters and opponents.
“It’s a lot easier as a setter to be left handed, because my left hand is going across the net. A lot of right-handed setters that play front row have to teach themselves to use their left hand in order to become aggressive when they are dumping,” Rousseau said. “For me, I was already dominant with my left, so I was able to immediately start working on techniques instead of developing my dominant hand.”
As Rousseau has found herself at the high-school level, playing for Bloomfield Hills, the accolades began pouring in. She was a 2016 and 2017 MaxPreps underclassmen All-American and named to PrepVolleyball.com’s Frosh 59 in 2016. She also has earned All-OAA and All-Region honors in her freshman and sophomore seasons while being named Honorable Mention All-State in Class A in 2017.
Through her two seasons with the Black Hawks, she has amassed 1,901 assists, 471 kills, 162 aces, 112 blocks and 255 digs. She is hitting .495 on her attacks.
“It was kind of natural for me to learn how to set and be super aggressive while (playing setter) because I am left-handed. I think it helps both my club team and my high school team. That is what I built myself around, being an offensive setter,” Rousseau said.
With the accolades came plenty of college attention. Rousseau was a top recruit before even entering high school. Northwestern was a program that began showing interest in Rousseau in the eighth grade and she decided to commit to the Wildcats during her sophomore year.
“I knew I wanted a good balance between academics and volleyball. From the minute I visited Northwestern, I knew I could have that there. They are a tremendous academic school and they play in a great conference like the Big Ten,” Rousseau said. “They really value the success of the volleyball program and are building something special there. (Head coach Shane Davis) recruited me since I was in the eighth grade and I really fell in love with the coaching staff. They have been super supportive of me and very loyal to me. I know I will be in good hands with them.”
Being heavily recruited can be a difficult process for some to handle, but Rousseau saw it as an opportunity to grow as a player.
“It was more humbling than it was difficult. I was getting a lot of attention at a young age and I just made sure I didn’t take advantage of it in a negative way. I used it as motivation to continue to be the best I could be,” she said. “I visited a lot of great schools and there was nothing wrong with the other programs, it’s just that I felt I fit best with Northwestern. That became more clear with each visit I was taking, so it just made sense for me to commit when I did.”
After a strong club year as a captain of Legacy 16-Elite and earning a pair of top-10 finishes in the AAU and USA Volleyball Junior National Championships, Rousseau turns her attention to the 2018 prep season with Bloomfield Hills. Entering her junior year, Rousseau is focused on being a vocal leader like she was with Legacy this year.
The Black Hawks have been knocking at the door of being a contender in the highly-competitive OAA Red the past two years. In 2017, Bloomfield Hills exited the Class A playoffs in the district semifinal, losing to eventual Class A runner-up, Marian.
“We have always been a competitive team and a respectable team, but I don’t think many people will be expecting us to be as good as I think we can be,” Rousseau said of the 2018 season. “We have a great senior and junior class with some great underclassmen. We have all been working hard and playing club to improve our game and we are all really excited to try and do something special at Bloomfield Hills.”
The Black Hawks will have to do it under a new coach as veteran coach Robert Hurdle stepped down during the offseason for health reasons.
“Bob taught me so much about the game,” Rousseau said. “He’s really a great coach and is responsible for a lot of the growth in the team.”
Bloomfield Hills will be competing in Division 1 this fall and practice begins on Aug. 8.