| SPORTS
| October 15, 2004
Volleyball
Mavs battle for top spot Friday
At home for the first time in
two weeks, the team faces its two fiercest conference opponents.
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Freshman outside hitter Morgan Roger
elevates for a shot Thursday afternoon during practice
at Texas Hall. |
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By Kevin
Bueker
Contributor to The Shorthorn
The Mavericks volleyball team takes on Southland Conference opponent
Texas State for the second time this season at 7 p.m. in Texas Hall.
They follow with a match against UT-San Antonio at 4 p.m. Saturday
to complete the first round of conference play.
After sweeping the Bobcats in San Marcos Sept. 14, the Mavs (15-3,
7-2) face a revamped Texas State team.
“In the first match, they were still looking for the right
mix,” interim head coach Diane Seymour said.
Injuries led to a line-up shuffle for Texas State (13-4, 7-2), which
responded almost immediately. After the UTA loss, the team’s
only home defeat, Texas State dropped a match to McNeese State.
Since then, the Bobcats have rattled off eight straight victories,
including seven against conference opponents. They now tie the Mavs
for conference first place at 7-2.
Texas State is led by head coach Karen Chisum, the longest-tenured
coach in the Southland Conference. She has won 585 games in 26 years
at Texas State.
“She actually recruited me when I was in high school,”
Seymour said.
In her rookie campaign, Seymour will face off against Chisum’s
vast experience and up-beat style of play.
“She always does a very good job of preparing her club,”
Seymour said.
The Mavs are ready to defend against the Bobcats’ outside
hitters, Stephanie Torregrosa and Elizabeth Nwoke, and senior middle
blocker Kacee Rogers, Seymour said.
“Kacee Rogers is very dynamic offensively,” she said.
“Nwoke is outstanding on the outside, and Torregrosa is a
very solid all-around player.”
After seeing their hitting percentage fall from the .300s, UTA players
look to improve their offense. The Mavs still lead the conference
with a .255 hitting percentage, but Seymour would like to see the
downward trend curbed. The Mavs are third nationwide with 20.74
digs per game, but Texas State ranks as the conference’s top
defense, holding opponents to .156 hitting.
“UTA has always been known for our defense,” middle
blocker Caley Smith said. “It’s exciting to me because
I think you get more pride out of digging a ball nobody thinks you’re
going to dig than getting a kill.”
The team doesn’t focus on the stats, but it certainly is an
accomplishment to be ranked so high, Seymour said.
Playing Texas State is a precursor to Saturday’s match against
UT-San Antonio because all three schools play a similar, traditional
style of volleyball.
“They run a very fast offense,” Smith said. “We
just have to be up to speed.”
Replacing its only graduate with junior transfer Jennifer Emelogu,
UT-San Antonio (9-9, 6-3) comes in as one of the conference’smost
experienced teams.
In their last match, a four-game win against Northwestern State,
a trio of sophomores came up big for the Roadrunners.
Meagan Daniel, reigning conference newcomer of the year, recorded
a career-high 24 kills and added 19 digs. Erin McMillan came up
with a season-high 31 digs for the second time in a week. Setter
DeeDee Strickland recorded a season-best 69 assists, and threw in
10 digs for her sixth double-double of the year.
The Mavericks know the matches will be a challenge, but are excited
about the prospects of solidifying first place.
“It’s always better to play teams at your level,”
Smith said. “It’s what makes you play better and that’s
what it’s all about.”
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