Women's Volleyball 11/13/2012 10:03:00 AM

Volleyball Ready to Take the Next Step

LAREDO, Texas – There is no argument… what the TAMIU volleyball team has accomplished over the last two years under new leadership, has been remarkable.

When Al Givens took the reins of the program in 2011, he was charged with turning around a program that finished 1-25 in their previous season. With the help of assistant Marlon Sano, Coach Givens led the Dustdevils to their first playoff appearance since 2007.

This year, with Sano taking over as head coach, the team has stayed right on track qualifying for their second consecutive appearance in the Heartland Conference tournament. In the process, Coach Sano led the team to their first winning season since the Dustdevils’ 2006 campaign.

Senior setter Daria Winckler spoke Monday afternoon, about her experience in two years with the team.

“It’s been awesome! As a team, we’ve accomplished some great things and we’ve taken huge steps towards the future of volleyball at TAMIU. We knew when we came in that the team had struggled in years past, but it was our job to start a winning tradition. It’s not over – this weekend we have the chance to take another huge step for our school and our program.”

With the team’s newfound success has come a rise in expectations. This year TAMIU knocked off St. Edward’s University for the first time since 2007, a huge step for the rising program. But now the team is ready to take on a bigger challenge, winning the first Heartland Conference championship in program history.

The task won’t be easy. The Dustdevils head to the postseason as the number four seed in the tournament, meaning they will have to face the undefeated conference champions and host Arkansas Fort Smith in the opening round of play. The Lions come in with a no. 24 national ranking and have won 15 consecutive games. If that wasn’t enough, excluding their two losses, Fort Smith has been pushed to five games only twice this year.

In their two meetings this season, the Lions have prevailed each time winning three sets to one. But each time, the Dustdevils played some of their best volleyball of the season.
“I don’t feel intimidated at all,” said Winckler. “I love playing against Fort smith and so does the rest of the team. We love the challenge. If we can eliminate a few errors and play the way we know we can play, I think we can get a different result on Friday.”

The Dustdevils depart Laredo on Wednesday and will open tournament play Friday evening at 5 p.m. at the Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas. No. 2 seed Dallas Baptist University will play No. 3 seed St. Edward’s University at 7:30 p.m. The championship match will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II South Central Region Tournament.

Live stats and streaming video of each match will be available through Tournament Central at http://heartlandsports.org/index.aspx?path=wvball.

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