Following the 2020 season, in which Texas State volleyball won its third consecutive Sun Belt tournament title and finished 30-8 overall and 15-1 in conference play, the team has its sights set on the first round of the NCAA tournament scheduled to begin on April 14.
The team enters the tournament as the No. 28 seed and will match up against the Utah Valley University Wolverines. Head Coach Sean Huiet and the rest of the team are motivated and feel they are poised to make school history.
“We’ve only gone to the second round one other time,” Huiet says. “This group wants to do something Texas State hasn’t done. That’s what drives [the players] and that’s what makes it fun to coach them.”
Typically, the NCAA tournament takes place in the fall, but this season it was pushed back to accommodate teams and conferences that did not play in fall 2020 due to COVID-19.
Texas State has been in-season since August with only a two-month break after the team won the conference championship on Nov. 22. Junior setter Emily DeWalt says the team placed an emphasis on mental preparation, as it knew COVID-19 would alter its operations.
“We’ve obviously had to have a different mindset coming in,” DeWalt says. “Usually in the spring we train, and you don’t have to compete as much. Coming in we were super excited we had the opportunity to compete again.”
The Bobcats went 6-6 in the spring portion of the schedule and played some big-name opponents, including the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University.
After starting the spring 3-1, Texas State lost five straight matches. Though the team was discouraged after the losses, Huiet says he knew the spring matchups would test his players.
“We had a little bit of a lull there, but that was probably our hardest stretch. We played eight games in 14 days against Big 12 opponents,” Huiet says. “We had to work their minds a little bit and give them some rest, but they pulled through, and we are playing really good volleyball right now.”
Junior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald says the team is a “little banged up” due to the length and nature of this season, but she feels, despite the struggles, the team is in great shape heading into the tournament.
“It’s nothing we can’t handle,” Fitzgerald says. “We have lots of depth on our team, and we’ve become mentally and physically stronger because of all of this. We’ve gotten a lot closer than we have been in the past.”
Last year, Texas State lost to the University of California at Santa Barbara in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Senior middle blocker Tyeranee Scott says she and her teammates are capable of going much further.
“[Last year’s tournament loss] didn’t feel good but, of course, we are using it as motivation,” Scott says. “We really want to go to the Sweet 16 this year; that’s been our goal since August.”
As the team prepares to take on Utah Valley, the Bobcats are using their late-season practices to hone their skills and get their minds and bodies prepared for what they hope will be a long tournament run.
“The last couple of weeks we have been keeping [practices] short and sweet, trying to keep their mind in it and engaged,” Huiet says. “[We have been] serving and passing every day because that’s what we need to win. Even at the highest level, serving and passing is very critical. We’ve been saying, ‘Let’s get in here and be locked in, keep it short and sweet and then get some more rest.’”
Utah Valley finished its season 14-5 and 12-4 in conference play. The team is led by the Western Athletic Player of the Year, junior outside hitter Kazna Tanuvasa.
“Utah Valley is a really good team; we are not overlooking them at all,” Huiet says. “They play in the [Western Athletic Conference], which is a tough conference. We are going to be prepared for them and then we are excited to go give Nebraska our best shot. We want to take care of business that first night and then have a shot to play and go to the Sweet 16.”
Huiet says the team has talked a lot about how “we are all in this together.” Approaching the tournament, he believes togetherness is key.
“We don’t want any excuses; we knew this was coming once we won the Sun Belt tournament,” Huiet says. “[The players’] goals are the same as [the coaches’]. We know this group is special.”
The Bobcats will face the Wolverines at 2:30 p.m. on April 14 in Omaha, Nebraska.