Getting to Know Caroline Deniker; Question and Answer Session with Standout Volleyball Player
By Chris Johnson on November 26, 2023
What’s your favorite movie?
I’m not a big movie watcher so I don’t have one thing I would say is definitely by favorite movie but I’d say any of the Harry Potter movies. I’m a little bit of a book nerd.
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Who is the best high school athlete you have competed against?
This is from when I was a little bit younger, Skylar Yates from Hedgesville. She was a super great athlete and someone to look up to for sure.
Favorite subject in school?
Probably English or maybe chemistry.
Any pre-match superstitions or rituals?
I have two ankle braces and they go on the exact same feet every time. Mine are marked. I know which one goes on my right foot, which one goes on my left foot and I keep it that way.
How do you best describe Coach Burton?
She is really hard on us. You compare yourselves to some of the athletes in other sports and this team doesn’t practice this day while we practice every single day. She’s really hard on us but at the end of the day she wants want is best for us and is willing to do what she thinks is best for our team and best for every single player.
She truly has a big heart when it comes to this team and Bridgeport just in general. So sometimes it’s like, “Oh we are practicing at 6 a.m.” but that is because she knows what is going to make us the best possible team we can be.
Celebrity Crush?
Timothée Chalamet. He played Laurie in the (2019) version of Little Women.
Who’s the funniest player on the BHS volleyball team?
I feel like everyone is funny in their own way and everyone has a unique personality. Everyone has made me laugh at one point but Calleigh Morgan, she is unique, she doesn’t care what other people think. She’s going to say what’s on her mind and I think that often makes her very funny, ironically funny.
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What’s your favorite book?
I’d have to say Little Women.
Is there a book that you really like that you think everybody should read?
Any of the classics. I feel like sometimes you have to read a classic for school and it might be kind of boring but I think there are a lot of classics that are good books to read and anything that makes you critically think about anything, is a good book to read.
What match of your career sticks out the most?
The Philip Barbour game this year that we won. I know that wasn’t my best day personally, I feel like the way we played as a team, I don’t think I’ve ever had that feeling before of just total connection. It was outstanding. It’s a friendly rivalry but it’s an intense rivalry. It’s nice to be around a team that is supper competitive and we do have good games against.
When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, what is the one side dish that has to be there?
Mashed potatoes or the rolls.
With mashed potatoes is gravy a necessity?
No gravy. I’ve never been a gravy person. I feel like the gravy might make the turkey better but I’m just not a gravy person.
You developed into a great all-around player this year. For you personally, what gets you more excited, a big block, a big kill, a big ace or a big dig?
For me, probably a big kill. When I see a teammate get a big dig, that gets me really excited but for me when I get a good kill and I know that I just hit a good kill, that’s a really good feeling and that’s unmatched with serving or blocking. Sometimes when I get a block I feel like it’s luck. When I get a kill and I know I made really great contact, that’s the best feeling.
Favorite meal?
This is random but my Dad makes really good shrimp salad.
Who is your favorite literary character
I feel like this is going to be about Little Women again but I have to go with Jo from Little Women.
What’s the best thing on TV right now?
I’m a really big Criminal Minds fan and I really like Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Two completely different shows but are two of the top shows for me.
What is your go-to concession stand order?
You know Ali, we don’t eat a lot of concession stand food but I would say a pretzel or a pepperoni roll.
You wake up tomorrow as a superhero, what do you want your power to be?
There are benefits with every super power but maybe teleporting. I feel like I could get a lot more done if I could teleport.
Settle the great debate, Christmas decorations go up before Thanksgiving or after Thanksgiving?
Definitely after Thanksgiving. I’m a firm believer in waiting until after Thanksgiving. My family gets a real tree and you can’t really put that up before Thanksgiving or it will be dead before Christmas.
What is the most important thing being an athlete at BHS has taught you?
Being an athlete at Bridgeport High School means a lot of things but one of the biggest things is you have to focus on your academics too. People always say you are a student athlete and that means student first and athlete second. I’m someone who prioritizes my education. I take hard classes and do my best to succeed but that also means I have to learn to time manage. If you want to be good at your sport and in the classroom, you have to prioritize your time for school and you have to prioritize your time for your sport. I go to practice, I come home and study. You have to learn to prioritize your time realize you can’t just do whatever you want.
There’s a young kid in the community just getting into volleyball what advice do you give him or her?
If you really love it, stick with it. Try to seek out any opportunity you can. The Bridge has rec volleyball and travel volleyball. If that is something you are truly interested in then go out and do that. Don’t be afraid to reach out to any of the high school players you see or coaches because I know that anyone of us would be glad to help them. Keep pushing yourself to be better.
Editor's Note: Photos of Deniker courtesy of Joe LaRocca.
