July 24, 2007
ARLINGTON, Texas - The 2007 edition of the UT Arlington volleyball team will feature plenty of experience as the Mavs return five seniors and six starters that went 25-10 and advanced to the Southland Conference tournament championship match a season ago.
"On paper, I guess you would have to say we are going to be one of the preseason favorites in the conference, and I hope we are," said fourth-year head coach Diane Seymour. "These kids have deserved the ranking. Again, it is on paper so we have to look at it in a situation of what are they going to do when they get out there and start competing.
"It's definitely a situation where five seniors gives us a little bit of an edge. They have finished second once third once. They want to win a conference championship. Can these five seniors, in there last go around, get that edge and drive to finish what they started in this program?"
The key to success will be the ability to win matches away from Texas Hall. Last season, the Mavs were 14-7 away from home and 9-1 neutral-site matches. This season, the Mavs play 21 of the 29 matches away from the friendly confines, including 12 of the first 13 matches of the season.
Setter
Senior Emily Nedderman returns for her third year as the starting setter for the Mavericks.
Nedderman earned second-team all-SLC honors in 2006 after ranking second in the conference with 1,476 assists. She also led the conference with 63 service aces and ranked in the top 10 with 1.03 blocks a game.
"She improved tremendously this past season and I would expect her to become even a better setter," said Seymour. "What people probably recognize most is her ability to block and dump to score points, but she is becoming a better setter. That was one of the focuses for her in the off-season, so I think you are going to see her have a more complete game."
Freshman Raegan Daniel returns to the court after gaining valuable experience as a red shirt in 2006.
"Raegan did a very good thing for the program last year in red-shirting," said Seymour. "That gives us the ability to spread out the setting position between a senior and a freshman. Raegan will sit behind Nedderman most of the year, but we are going to try and get her on the court as much as we can. The kid plays really good defense, so you never know when there will be situations where we need her to go in for a defensive purpose or a situation where she might be able to set a certain set in the offensive scheme a little better. We want to get her on the court as much as possible because this is her job in the future."
Outside Hitter
The strength of the team will be the play of its outside hitters. An area of concern prior to last season, the Mavs outside hitters thrived in leading the team back into contention in the SLC.
Senior right-side hitter Torie Dacus returns after putting together a first-team all-SLC season in 2006. The all-around player ranked second on the team with 400 kills and third with 495 digs. She needs 218 kills to become the 14th player to reach 1,000 kills in a career.
"Torie has had a tremendous career on the right side," said Seymour. "I would guess that she was probably the third or fourth best player in the conference and has a shot at player of the year this season. She will probably lead our offense quite a bit, as well as our defense."
Sophomore Teena Sobczak returns after putting together one of the most successful freshman campaigns in UTA history.
The Plano product ranked second on the freshman list with a team-high 431 kills and 467 digs, while setting a new freshman record with 1,343 total attacks.
"Teena had a very good freshman campaign and we have talked with her in the offseason about not sitting back and falling into that sophomore slump," said Seymour. "She has worked incredibly hard in the weight room and gotten stronger that will allow her to hit the ball a lot harder. She has gotten better defensively and that is one of the things we needed her to do. For a six-foot kid she can play great defense and will probably be the best passer on our team."
The spark plug to the Mavs is fiery senior Dani Johnson. The all-around player put together a strong junior campaign as she recorded 451 kills and 533 digs, while her 1,402 attempts was the fifth highest single-season total in school history.
"Dani did a great job for us on the outside last year," said Seymour. "She didn't put up great offensive numbers, but was just a mainstay on the court with her competitive nature. We don't know if she will start on the outside or if she will move to libero. We won't know that until practice starts and she is prepared to do either one."
Junior Ally Wade will have the benefit of two seasons picking up the Division I speed of the game and will be looking for an increased role in the rotation. Her versatility will allow her to play both the outside and middle for coach Seymour this season.
Sophomore Liz Curry packs a lot of power and athleticism into her 5-10 frame. Last season, Curry came off the bench to average 2.15 kills and 2.15 digs a game, including a career-best 18-kill performance in a three-game victory over St. Francis (NY).
"Liz was a great spark for us off the bench last season," said Seymour. "That might be the role she is in again this year. She is just a great kid coming off the bench and might just be that eighth player that night after night you are ready to put her in on the right or left. She is explosive off the floor and hits really hard, but is still struggling with the game speed in college"
The District 14-5A outside hitter MVP as a senior at Pflugerville High School, Bianca Sauls brings impressive credentials to Arlington and will battle for a starting spot on the outside.
"She is a tremendous athlete and there are coaches in the league that are saying this is going to be the freshman of the year," said Seymour. "With a kid like that you just have to get her in see how fast she picks up to the speed of the college game.
"She can touch the rim so she is a dynamic athlete. I don't see how this kid is going to sit on the bench. Do I know where she is going to play, no, but I don't think she is going to sit on the bench."
Middle Blocker
A pair of seniors will hold down the middle of the court as Gina Kalb and Ellen Murray return to their starting lineup.
"Gina and Ellen did a good job of blocking in the middle, but they both need to be more offensive," said Seymour. "They put up good blocking numbers last year, but we are looking for them to be a little more offensive this year. We will see how that plays itself out as far as other middle blockers trying to come in unseat those two."
Kalb led the team last season with 13 solo blocks and ranked third with 104 block assists. She also recorded 161 kills and has a .198 attack percentage.
Murray was a force at the net in 2006 as she tied for the SLC lead with 169 total blocks. Her 157 block assists ranks second on the all-time single-season list at UTA.
Junior Michelle Schwartz brings an offensive punch to the middle as she recorded 50 kills and a .252 hitting percentage in just 45 games. She also added 32 block assists and seven service aces.
"Michelle is one of those players that comes off the bench and provides an offensive spark," said Seymour. "We took a hard look at her this spring to see if she might take over a starting position because she is more offensive. Once we get into preseason we will know a little how well she stayed in shape and progressed in the weight room to be able to use her offensive spark."
Incoming freshman Christy Driscoll will battle for playing time in the middle after District 5-5A outstanding hitter honors as a senior at Keller High School.
"There is a chance this kid could red-shirt, but I am very anxious to see what she will be like six weeks from the day preseason starts" said Seymour. "We want to get her onto the court as much as possible, but if six weeks into the season she doesn't look like she will beat out the other three, we will talk about red-shirting her because she is going to be a dynamic player in this conference."
Sophomore Chelsea Taylor transfers into the middle this season after averaging 2.66 kills a game at Hawai'i Pacific last season.
"Chelsea is like Michelle in that she is a strong offensive player that can put the ball away," said Seymour. "We will take a good look at her in the preseason to see what impact she might have."
Libero
The only hole the Mavs have to fill will be replacing the school's all-time leader in digs in Ashley Smith.
"There is no way to replace Ashley Smith because of what she did last year, but we are taking a hard look at a few kids," said Seymour. "Dani is prepared to step into that spot if that is who we need it to be, she can do it with no problem. We also spent some time with Liz in the libero position in the spring.
"We also have a walk-on, Katie Utecht, that we think can be very good. Again, it is going to be how quickly she picks up the speed of the game. She's got a great platform so we really think down the line she is going to be a very good libero."
