A trip to Costa Rica was a bonding experience for UK athletes Asia Thigpen, Delaynee Rodriguez, Creslyn Brose and Morgan Gaerte.

Notre Dame transfer Morgan Gaerte, a 6-foot-5 junior hitter, was a first-team all-ACC player last season when she had 497 kills in 28 matches. That was the most kills by a Notre Dame player in the rally-scoring era (2008-present) and third-most overall in all scoring eras.

Gaerte and teammate Asia Thigpen recently went on a trip to Costa Rica with UK All-American gymnasts Creslyn Brose and Delaynee Rodriguez for del Sueno Mar Beachfront Hotel.

“Morgan is absolutely amazing and so easy to talk to and very easy to be around,” Brose said. “She is definitely somebody that I feel close with now. Same with Asia (Thigpen). They are both awesome but Morgan is very outgoing and very kind.

Brose and Rodriguez did not play volleyball against Gaerte and Thigpen in Costa Rica where the two UK volleyball players held a clinic for local girls but did retrieve balls for them during the youth clinic.

Brose said it was a “great opportunity” for the gymnasts to spend time with athletes from another sport in Costa Rica.

“I love opportunities like that because we actually get to expand from our team a little bit,” Brose said.  “Obviously, we do so much with our team but then you’re on campus and around people that you wish were  friends with you and wish you knew more,” Brose said. “But with these kinds of things we were able to share experiences together, and I feel like that created a special bond between the four of us.

“We even talked about it when we were there. We’re like, ‘When we come back, we should do bonfires at each other’s houses and just hang out. Just that kind of stuff. So definitely I feel like getting close with athletes from other teams is awesome.”