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SPORTS
| October 7, 2003
Volleyball
Losses could lead to lineup change
Poor defense leads Mavericks to
drop 2 to Texas State and UT-San Antonio this weekend.
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| The Shorthorn: Awais Ikram |
| Junior outside hitter Caley Smith digs
a ball during practice Monday afternoon in Texas Hall.
The Mavericks will look to correct defensive moves during
their home game Saturday. |
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By Jon
Cromer
The Shorthorn sports editor
Lacking focus, communication and defense, a struggling volleyball
team is looking for answers to why it has dropped three of the last
four matches.
Two of those losses were to conference front-runners UT-San Antonio
and Texas State this weekend.
The Mavericks opened the road trip with a 3-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe
last Tuesday but lost in a 3-1 decision to UT-San Antonio on Friday.
Texas State swept the Mavericks Saturday, 3-0.
“We had a breakdown in communication, and we didn’t
do a very good job of executing our middle attack,” coach
Janine Smith said. “Our middle attack is what has been successful
for us all year, and when that breaks down, we struggle. We struggled
all weekend and that led to the losses.”
The Maverick defense was not near where it had been, Smith said.
“UTA is known for its defensive teams, and we were outplayed
in both matches,” Smith said.
Strong play from UT-San Antonio’s freshman Megan Daniel, who
finished with a match high 23 kills, helped the Roadrunners win
a close first game with 10 kills in a 32-30 win.
“I thought the first game against UTSA could have gone either
way,” Smith said. “We had our chances to win it, and
we just missed the opportunities.”
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| The Shorthorn: Awais Ikram |
| Senior Julie Felts watches as freshman
outside hitter Angela Kopecki digs a ball during practice
Monday afternoon in Texas Hall. |
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UT-San Antonio took the next game (30-24),
but UTA bounced back to take game three as sophomore Stephanie Miklis
finished with seven kills.
“Stephanie Miklis did an awesome job in game three —
providing a spark for us with her determination, Smith said. “She
did a good job Saturday night as well.”
In game four, UT-San Antonio took the lead early and never looked
back. UTA cut the lead to 21-18 with back to back kills, but that
was as close as the score would come as UTA dropped the game —
and the match.
Against Texas State, Smith said, the Mavericks were never in the
game.
“We played hesitant throughout the entire match and, defensively,
we had a very poor showing,” Smith said. “It was very
disappointing.”
The Mavericks played Texas State closely in the beginning of the
match but UTA’s falling behind early in all three games helped
the Bobcats earn their eighth consecutive win and remain at the
top of the Southland Conference standings.
Miklis started her first match of the season against Texas State
and led the team with eight kills. Freshman Kim Merrill and senior
Melissa Robinett had six kills each in the losing effort.
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| The Shorthorn: Awais Ikram |
| Senior Julie Felts watches the ball
before it lands outside the court. Mavericks coach Janine
Smith said lineup changes may be in the future after the
team lost both of its weekend games. |
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Co-captain Heather Dunn, who had 53 assists
in the two matches, was not happy with the way the team played.
“Something is wrong with our team
chemistry and our emotion on the court,” Dunn said. “It’s
things like that that go along with being a team — and we
just didn’t have that this weekend.”
Dunn said she thinks the team has the problems figured out after
a meeting following the loss to Texas State.
“We had a really good talk after the match, and we figured
out the things that we were doing wrong and the things we weren’t
doing as well,” she said. “We need to be more together
and more team-oriented.”
Possible lineup changes could be on the way for the Mavericks, Smith
said.
“We will just see how it goes and try to figure out what will
work,” she said. “We had a lineup that was working for
awhile, but we weren’t really winning games the way we should
have. We are going to make some changes, and hopefully it will work.”
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