No. 2 Volleyball tested and ready for NCAA postseason
Dec. 1, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas -- At one point early this season, Texas Volleyball head coach Jerritt Elliott went so far as to call the schedule he designed by hand as “gruesome.” The Longhorns had just completed an unblemished run through seven-straight ranked opponents to open their season. Five of those came on the road, including a 3-1 victory at the decibel den that is Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center. The obvious question was why -- why endure so much, so early? Because of right now. The Longhorns earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the No. 1 seed in the Omaha Regional. Hosting the first and second rounds for the sixth-straight season, UT will meet Texas State on Thursday at 6 p.m. “Come NCAA Tournament time, everyone is playing their best volleyball,” senior setter Ashley Engle says. “Nothing is easy. We’re ready to see the tournament get started.” The Longhorns have been gearing for this moment from the very beginning. In addition to a conference schedule that featured five other NCAA Tournament teams, Elliott put together a gauntlet that is rated as the toughest in the nation. And the overarching goal was to make the Longhorns tested and ready when it counts -- right now. Already this season, UT has won on the road, at home and on neutral courts. The Longhorns won at Nebraska for the first time in more than 20 years, and even dealt with a last-minute venue change before sweeping Baylor earlier this month. Some media types are already picking UT and Penn State, this year’s defending national champion, in the championship final. “Do we have the talent to be there? Absolutely. Do we have a good chance? I think so. But it’s going to be decided on the court. Everybody has seen upsets,” Elliott says. “I don’t think the NCAA Tournament is ever easy or stress-free. If you get caught up in all the hype, that’s where you get in a lot of trouble.”
The Longhorns have been motivated all season to avenge the loss they endured in last year’s NCAA Championship semifinals to Stanford, especially after winning the first two sets. “I think it’s definitely a motivation to get back, but it’s hard to look ahead when you just think about the road that we have to take to get there,” junior Juliann Faucette says. And that’s exactly how Elliott has prepared the Longhorns to be all season -- hungry and motivated, but focused on the singular task at hand. “We’re thrilled to be hosting the first and second rounds. We’ve got teams that are hot coming in our direction, and we’ve got to be ready to play,” Elliott says. “We have to perform at a very high level.” |
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