University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

Page 182 text:

aulting into the Final Four olleyball by Fran Harris After falling short of their ultimate goal for three consecutive years, the Lady Longhorn Volleyball team finally made it to the NCAA Final Four Tournament. While the road to the national tourna- ment was a long, hard one, the Texas team was confident it could endure. This is the best team we ' ve had and I think we all want it really bad, Jackie Campbell said. After defeating Southwest Texas State 15-12, 15-9 and 15-6, Sam Houston State 15-4, 15-2, 1 5-3 and UT Arlington 15-3, 15-11 and 15-4 in the Southwest Texas Invitational in San Marcos Sept. 4-6, Texas faced the No. 1 Stanford Car- dinals in their season opener at the Frank C. Erwin Center Sept. 1 1 . Ready for the challenge, the Longhorns pounded the Cardinals 15- 12, 15-17, 15-1 and 15-8 before an en- thusiastic home crowd. Dawn Daven- port said she and her Longhorn team- mates were prepared for the challenge. We just did things right and they couldn ' t get it back, Davenport said. Southwest Texas State ... 15-12, 15-9, 15-6 Sam Houston State 15-4, 15-2, 15-3 UT-Arlington 15-3, 15-1 1, 15-4 Stanford 15-12, 15-17, 15-1, 15-8 Stanford 15-8, 15-12, 15-11 Pepperdine 15-12,16-14, 15-11 Pacific 15-9,4-15,9-15, 15-6, 15-12 UCLA . 15-13, 15-4, 13-15, 12-15, 15-13 UCLA 17-15,15-13,3-15, 15-9 Rice 15-7,8-15,15-12,15-2 Eastern Kentucky .12-15, 15-3, 15-9, 15-3 Kentucky 13-15, 15-11,11-15,15-10, 16-14 Baylor 15-5,15-4,15-6 Georgia ... 11-15, 13-15, 15-7, 15-9, 15-5 Texas Tech 15-4, 15-3, 15-6 San Diego 13-15,15-13, 15-11,10-15, 15-11 Texas A M 16-14, 15-13, 14-16, 15-9 Houston 15-13,15-11,15-10 Nebraska . 6-15, 15-12, 15-7, 9-15, 15-13 Texas Tech 15-3, 15-6, 8-15, 15-3 Houston 15-8, 15-3, 15-10 Arizona 15-9,15-12,15-11 Rice 15-6,15-8,15-5 Pepperdine 15-9, 15-7, 15-10 LSU 15-6,15-2,15-6 CalPoly-SLO 15-12, 15-9, 16-14 Baylor 15-10,15-12,11-15 Texas A M 15-1, 15-8, 15-5 Illinois. . . . 13-15, 15-11, 15-8, 15-17, 15-6 NCAA Tournament Duke 15-8,15-3,13-15,15-0 Georgia 5-15, 15-4, 15-10, 15-6 LSU 15-3,15-11,15-13 Pacific 6-15,1-15,14-16 The win over Stanford gave the Horns the confidence they needed going into the season, but was not enough to get them through their next obstacle on the road to the Final Four. In a tough west coast trip Sept. 18-19, Texas lost twice, first to No. 17 Pepperdine 15-12, 16-14 and 15-11, then to No. 3 Pacific 15-9, 4-15,9-15, 15-6 and 15-12. Diane Watson said the Longhorns lost because they were not intense. We were just flat, we made a lot of errors, Watson said. Back home the Lady Longhorns had little time to regroup, facing west coast rival the University of California at Los Angeles, Sept. 22 in the Kaepa Challenge I game. Texas, determined to end a nine match losing streak against UCLA, played to win. Watson showed her Ail-American talents by leading Texas with 1 9 kills, making her the first player in Texas history to score more than 1,000 kills. With Karen Kramer adding 16 kills Texas was able to rally from an eight point deficit in the final game to defeat the Bruins 15-13, 15-4, 13-15, 12-15 and 15-13. (continued on page 1 76) IN YOUR FACE: Concentrating on a spike, Katie Salen, advertising sophomore, goes past a block helping the Longhorns in a victory over the Baylor Bears Oct. 7. John Mooref 174 Volleyball

Page 181 text:

Susan Allen Camp Since he arrived at Texas in 1 982, Jeff Moore had led his tennis squads to four SWC championships and garnered three SWC Coach of the Year honors. He directed the East regional team at the National Sports Festival in 1983 and 1985. Coming to Texas one year before Lo- piano was Pat Weis, who in her 1 3 years as head coach led her Lady Longhorns to six top- 10 national finishes and two SWC titles. For her accomplishments during her career, she was named SWC Coach of the Year, NCAA Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year and the Ladies Professional Golf Association Coach of the Year. Once these coaches were in place, Lo- piano raised funds to strengthen the athletic scholarship base so the brightest and most athletically gifted women could be recruited. Known for her firm stances on equal opportunity from women in athletics, Lopiano stressed honesty and integrity in recruitment and development of the student-athlete. Of those athletes com- pleting four years of athletic eligibility since 1975, 94 percent graduated with baccalaureate degrees. As of the fall of 1986, 42 per cent of female athletes had an overall grade point average of 3.0 or better. Conradt was named head coach of the Pan American Games after she guided her basketball team to the first undefeated season in National Col- legiate Athletic Association history and an NCAA title in 1986. In her 1 1-year stint at the University, Conradt com- piled a 355- 51 record. After coming to Texas in 1 980 from Kellogg Community College, Mick Haley proceeded to guide his volleyball team to five consecutive SWC crowns. In the midst of the streak, Haley was named the SWC Coach of the Year three times. Seeing double duty as diving coach Suiui Altai Camp for both the men and women since 1977 was Mike Brown, whose divers played an important role in the swimming team ' s national championship streak. The 1984 National Coach of the Year led U.S. teams to international competi- tion in 1982, 1985, and 1987 and was an assistant coach at the 1980 Olympics. In building to the point where it was capable of sweeping the SWC, Lopiano instilled the philosophy into her depart- ment that quality coaches and quality student-athletes are the key for a win- ning program. With this philosophy firmly entrenched, a streak of sweeps could be in the cards for the Lady Longhorn program. Women ' s Intercollegiate Athletics 1 73

Page 183 text:

Jim Sigmon I FLYING HIGH: Anna Ybarrondo, elementary educa- tion senior, goes up for a spike while on a hot streak dur- ing the match-up against Georgia. Jim Simmon PRECISION PERFECT: Eva Murray, education senior, completes a perfect set against Georgia Oct. 9. Texas won the home opener in front of 1,006 spectators at the Erwin Center. DIG IN: During a rally against Stanford, Diane Watson, physical education senior, makes a save. Volleyball 1 75