By: Creighton Branch

 

ARLINGTON, Texas- There was 334 division I volleyball teams that took the court for 26 games between the months of August and November but none were quite like the lady mavericks of the University of Texas at Arlington.

 

As another season came to a close at the end of November the team made major strides between last year and this year but not just in the win and loss column.

What made the team so special was not how talented they were or even how they improved on the court. But rather through each phase of adversity, the team was able to continue to build upon the love and admiration they had for one another to get them through the year.

Freshman Brooke Townsend said she knew that this team could be special the minute she started practice before the season.

 

“We just focused on the little things,” Townsend said. “The way we cared for each other was unlike anything I have ever been a part of It was really special.”

With the second season in head coach J.T. Wenger's tenure set to begin the team was looking to improve off a 13-17 losing record from last year but many Sunbelt experts left this team off the radar as they were picked to finish fourth in the division by the Sunbelt Conferenceand had zero first place votes.

 

The team came in as one of the youngest UTA has had in years with eight combined freshman and sophomores, according to utamavs.com. Inexperience was expected to play a key role in the reason UTA would have struggled through the year, according to the Sunbelt voters.

 

The Sunbelt coaches voted the lady mavericks only to receive one award for All-Sunbelt conference team with senior Zhanelle Geathers. Depth within the team was also seen as an issue for UTA entering the season, according to the Sunbelt voters.

 

With all the odds going in favor of UTA to have a below average and worse year than last, the team could have easily played into expectations and not have cared much but that was not at all what took place at the College Park Center between those four months.

 

According to Wenger, the team was excited and hungry to begin the season. With underwhelming expectations and a roster that did not match up well with some of the others in the conference, the team was ready to prove experts wrong.

 

Although as the lady Mavericks stepped on the hardwood for their first few games everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

Facing and Rising from Adversity

 

UTA started off the season in Arizona with three straight losses to Arizona State University, New Mexico University and Pacific University.

 

“It was hard [during the losing],” Geathers said. “We just needed to get back to what we were used to doing. I trusted my team to fight their way back and I knew they had the same expectation for me.”

 

While losing three straight games would place doubts in any team’s mind, UTA did not let that phase them as they came back to the College Park Center and fought to bring their record back to even at 3-3 which eventually led to a 5-3 record in the first 8 games, according to utamavs.com

 

Geathers became a huge spark plug for the team when they went on the winning streak. As she showed tremendous passion and love for her teammates on each play of the game. Saying that UTA volleyball means everything to her so why not go out there and show it on the court where it matters most.

 

“It meant a lot to go out there and show how much you want it,” Geathers said. “It helped us a lot to have confidence and bring the energy [to win the games].”

 

The quick turnaround of their record had players on the team believing they had something special brewing. Junior libero Madelyn St. Germain felt that a conference championship waited for the Mavericks down the road.

 

She said none of the success could have happened if the team didn’t love and care for one another. That it takes a special group of teammates to completely trust the player next to you.

 

“It was surreal and it was honestly looking ahead but I believed that we were going to make it with this team," St. Germain said.

 

Through the win streak, the team was also able to see emerging stars begin to take shape such as Madison Hill, Townsend and Bre Walp. It was apparent that UTA was no longer a team to be taken lightly but still had adversity looming beyond the horizon.

 

After a couple more losses they began another win streak but then tumbled their way at the end of the season losing four out of their last six games finishing with a regular season record of 15-11, according to utamavs.com.

 

Unlike others, the team never once pointed fingers at any of the members. As Wenger continued to say, they were always trying to find positives out of every loss and keep their head high.

 

The team continued into the Sunbelt tournament where they lost in the quarterfinals and their season came to an abrupt end. The lady Mavericks finished with 16 wins and 12 losses, according to utamavs.com.

 

More Than The Record 

 

Even though they did not obtain a conference championship the team experienced so much success. They improved their record to five fewer losses, played one round deeper in the conference tournament, had three all-conference players but most importantly grew closer as a team in the process.

 

“Everybody wanted it and we came to practice every day wanting to get better,” Geathers said. “Whenever we had the lows we fought back through it because there was no drama on the team and

we all just genuinely loved each other and wanted to play for one another.”

 

The passion and love between the girls carried UTA far beyond what most expected for them. By the end of the season not only did the lady Mavericks capture the eyes of the critics but they also captured the hearts of the people watching.

 

“They had me believing they could win the whole thing honestly,” Micah Cole, a fan of the team said. “I could see how bad they wanted it and it had me going to every game. I bought in.”

 

Wenger had nobody else to thank but the seniors of the team for creating the tight culture this season. Saying they are the sole reason for the turnaround of this year.

 

“A lot of leadership from those girls,” Wenger said. “[The seniors] did so much and contributed so much and we were honored they were part of our program.”

 

The team now looks ahead to next season and how they can continue to grow but the girls have said they will never forget what they experienced between each other this year.

 

While the game of volleyball is centered around wins and statistics to measure the success of a team. The UTA lady mavericks far exceeded any of that. They were able to achieve something greater. They not only built a team, but they also built a family.