SPORTS | October 31, 2003

Volleyball
Mavericks aim to earn first-round bye, keep 2nd
The team is two-and-a-half wins behind the Southland Conference’s 1st place.

The Shorthorn: Awais Ikram Outside hitter Elizabeth Davis digs a ball during practice Thursday in the Activities Building’s Yellow Gym. The Mavericks are trying to hold on to their second place standing in conference play.

By Jon Cromer
The Shorthorn sports editor

With four of the volleyball team’s last six matches of the regular season away and the Southland Conference Tournament looming, the Mavericks are trying to solidify their second-place position and earn a first-round bye in the post-season tournament.

The top two teams in conference get an automatic berth to the semifinals, while the bottom four teams play first-round games. To keep its hold on second place, UTA (10-4) will need to fend off Stephen F. Austin, UT-San Antonio, Nicholls State and McNeese State, all tied for third at 9-5.

To do that, the Mavericks must build on their four-match winning streak starting at 7 tonight against Southeastern Louisiana and then Nicholls State on Saturday afternoon.

“We just need to keep winning and just take it one match at a time,” head coach Janine Smith said. “There are a lot of key match-ups in the last six matches for all of the teams in the conference.”

The Mavericks are two-and-a-half games behind conference leader Texas State (12-1), and the Bobcats are in a good position to claim their second conference title in four years. The regular season title means nothing if Texas State doesn’t win the tournament because the tournament champion earns the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

UTA can attest to this after finishing the 2001 regular season 13-7 at fourth place in conference play. The Mavericks went on to beat conference champion Lamar in the semifinals on their way to the tournament title and a trip to the NCAA tournament.

The Shorthorn: Awais Ikram Middle blocker Mindy Hubik dives for the ball during team practice Thursday in the Activities Building. The Mavericks play Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. today at Hammond, La.

Coach Smith said winning comes down to taking care of business on the court and peaking at the right time.

“We need to win the matches that we are supposed to win, and we are capable of doing that,” she said. “We are playing better and better every night out, and we have proved to ourselves that we can fight. We have by no means peaked, but we are hoping to get there.”

Junior Heather Dunn said it is tough to play on the road, but toward the end of the season, it becomes even harder.

“There are teams that are trying to win just to get into the conference tournament,” Dunn said. “That’s the thing about the teams below us right now. They are scraping just to get in, and we just have to hold our spot so we don’t drop any in the tournament.”

Junior Caley Smith wants the team to stay among the top two and get the bye because it gives the team its best chance to win the tournament by not having to play matches for three consecutive days.

“It is very important because once you get to the tournament, playing three matches in a row is tough on your body, and you get tired,” Caley Smith said. “Having a bye works to your advantage. We only had to play two matches last year instead of the three matches we played my freshmen year. You have a lot more energy going into the championship game with a bye.”

The Mavericks have done it both ways — playing two last year and three in 2001. Both times, the result was the same — UTA has won two consecutive tournament titles.

The Shorthorn: Awais Ikram Middle blocker Melissa Marek returns a ball during practice Thursday in the Activities Building’s Yellow Gym.

Southeastern Louisiana boasts Sarah Gascon, who has recorded more than 40 digs in a match three times in conference play — all five-game affairs. The senior is tops in the league in digs — averaging 6.82 digs a game with 582 on the season in 89 games.

“We need to expect the unexpected to come back over the net because a lot of her digs are to target,” coach Smith said. “We know she is going to get her digs, and there is no way to stop her from digging balls. She gets a lot of balls up, and that is just what she is going to do.

“We just have to make sure that we are expecting a lot of balls to come back and not think that we have the ball down when it really isn’t going to be down.”

The Mavericks will have revenge in mind against Nicholls State after the Colonels handed UTA its first conference loss at Texas Hall.

“Having Nicholls beat us at home was really tough,” Dunn said. “They are good, and we just have to play like we know how to play and take it to them on their home court.”

Nicholls State features one of the top hitters in the league in Caley Carter, who leads the league in kills — averaging 4.63 per game. The senior has 403 kills in 87 games this season. She had a match-high 21 kills against UTA earlier this season.

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