Hey, everyone! This is Sarah Holloway, a freshman defensive specialist and libero on the Texas Volleyball team. This year, I've inherited the weekly diary from both Whitney Garvens (who wrote it for the volleyball team in 2003) and from my brother Tillman (who wrote a diary for the UT football team last year). I'll keep you up-to-date on what's happening with the team, both on the court and off. I'll fill you in on our matches and our travels as we go after a Big 12 title in 2004! Check back each week to see what we've been up to! Hook 'em!
Last Thursday we left Austin to take on the SMU Invitational and this week we return home to open our home schedule already 4-0 in front of our home crowd.
It has been a victory-filled past week for us Longhorns. We wanted to go into the tournament in Dallas and make a statement to the country, and I think that we met our goal. Of course there are always things to work on, but our wins gave our young team the confidence that will allow us to go into Big 12 Conference play knowing we can win and we can compete with the best teams in the country. This year it is all about proving ourselves.
After our long bus ride, we arrived in Dallas and got some time to relax before practice. My roommate was Jess (Curtis) for this trip. It is interesting to see what everyone brings on road trips to give a flavor of home while we are at the hotel. Jess brought her volleyball blanket, while I brought my stuffed dog (Bomper). Anyway, after taking a nap we headed to the gym for practice. Practice was good because it gave us time to get used to the different atmosphere. As a passer it is always nice to get in some extra practice because the ball tends to float differently off a serve in every gym.
After taking care of business, we headed back to Austin with a 3-0 record after victories over SMU, Cal Poly and Northern Arizona. We got home around 10 p.m. on Saturday night and we were getting football score updates from the UT-North Texas game the entire bus ride back home. It was nice to come home and see the Tower lit orange. We had Sunday off to relax and sleep and started practice back up on Monday.
Going into our Houston match, we knew that they were going to be more physical than any team we had faced so far. But we also knew that we had our great state of Texas to defend. Right after class on Tuesday we boarded the bus and headed for Houston. We had a little time to listen to music and get prepared for the match when we got there. It was an awesome match and really showed how hard we have been working all preseason. It was also nice to take care of UH for our Houston girls - Jenny Andrew and Michelle Moriarty - on the team.
This semester is much different than the spring when Jen Christian and I came to school early. My daily schedule is extremely packed. It is very hard to juggle school with being in-season and traveling so much.
With that said, I need to get to study hall. I hope to see all y'all on Friday and Saturday at Gregory Gym. God Bless and as always, Hook'em!
-Holler
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