While eight teams will gather in Conway, AR on Friday,
both UIW Volleyball and ACU Volleyball have closed the books on 2016. With no disrespect to seventh seeded
Southeastern Louisiana and eighth seeded McNeese, they roll into Arkansas
because of asterisks. Their performance
in 2016 won't be good enough to join the 2017 party in Corpus Christi. For four years, the University of the
Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian University have been required to wear the
tag of "probationary" membership in the Southland Conference. But in the volleyball sense - this temporary,
but what must have seemed like eternal wait -is over. Both schools gain full membership status in 2017.
When the Southland announced that UIW and ACU would join
us in 2013, I wasn't sure what to think.
I thought the addition of Oral Roberts in 2012 was a step in
the right direction both in terms of geographic
footprint and athletic contributions.
ORU had a good program and made an instant upgrade on the SLC volleyball
landscape. Central Arkansas had been
recently admitted and was in the middle
of a dominant run. Volleyball was
getting better and the loss of perennially good programs like Texas State,
UT-Arlington and UTSA looked like it could be pacified a bit. Incarnate Word? Abilene Christian? I wasn't completely deriding of their fit,
but it took more of a squint rather than an eyes wide open gaze to visualize
their potential impact.
Fast forward to 2016 and the field of vision has cleared. Both schools have established that
they can compete well in the Southland volleyball race.
If anything, UIW and ACU have added some pressure to some of the SLC
programs in Louisiana to get their act together or get used to decorating for
Thanksgiving early each year while the rest of us enjoy the postseason.
In four probationary seasons, UIW went 27-35 in Southland play and ACU was just a
win behind at 26-36. Those two records
aren't all that impressive, but they don't tell the full story of what is being
built. This year UIW was 8-8 and would
have been SFA's opponent in the first round of the tournament if both teams
were eligible. From 2013-2016, UIW would
have made the tournament in three of their four probationary years, albeit
never higher that the 7th seed. ACU
finished a remarkable 11-5 in Southland play this year after posting a 9-7 mark the year before. They would have been
seeded in the three-hole this year and in slot #5 last year. Pretty impressive when you consider the team
won just six conference matches total over their first two years in the
SLC. From a home town perspective, SFA
has won 23 conference games in the last two years and ACU has won 20.
Incarnate Word gave a city of great importance back to
the Southland. San Antonio became a stop
on the tour again and for the sake of conference visibility alone this is a
good thing. As full SLC members it
wouldn't surprise me in the least if by 2020, UIW was winning bids to host
conference events in the Alamo City.
People love travelling to San Antonio and it would make a great host for
a volleyball championship in the near future.
The McDermott Convocation Center would be a fine size arena for hosting
the SLC VB Tourney and the backdrop of the city would provide a great
atmosphere. Parking might be an issue
for a larger event and the lighting in McDermott, which is downright poor,
would have to be improved. But, the size of the gym is comparable to the Dugan
Wellness Center where we've been before and will be again in 2017.
Besides giving SFA fits at
times, the Cardinals began and ended the 2016 SLC slate with a bang. Their early win over UCA cast doubts about
the strength of the Sugar Bears and their win over Lamar last week sunk the
Cardinals postseason chances. The win
over HBU also served notice that they were a dangerous team. With Autumn Lockley having emerged as a star
in this league and many other 2016 contributors returning, UIW looks primed to
be right in the thick of things for years to come. They have a rich set of local talent to try
and pull from as they continue their build.
Until this year, UIW ( Nicholls?) was the SLC school that
I personally had the least intersection with during my blogging and
broadcasting years. That all ended when
the gracious Jen Montoya (along with Lockley) met with me for a full hour this
year after I made an interview request.
It was classic. One of my
favorite memories of 2016 will be just sitting around the visting team hotel with Montoya
and Lockley talking about UIW and volleyball in general. They were very inclusive and
complementary. I drove away kicking
myself for not initiating contact with the folks at UIW earlier. Clearly, I had missed out on getting to know
good people and since contacts are what I need to continue to foster a solid
reputation, I was grateful for the time that the UIW staff and players afforded
me.
How much good can be said about Abilene Christian
University and how they portray themselves?
Well, here is the highest praise I can give: I have a high school senior in my house who
was born and raised here in Nacogdoches and ACU is on his short list of schools
to attend in the Fall. In fact, he has
already been accepted there. So, my
first born may wind up a Wildcat and I'd be darn proud if that's the way it
turns out.
No school in the Southland - and I mean this with an
honest heart - is more true in their marketing, advertising and social media
presence to their mission than ACU.
Impressive. Just absolutely first
rate. Back in 2014, when I first met
head coach Jason Bibler, I told him
this. I told him to go back and tell his
administration that people notice. I
love it when schools make it crystal clear what they stand for. ACU does this in spades and it's
refreshing: twitter posts with athletes
doing Bible studies while on the road, a spirited student fan club called the
Wildcat Reign, an athletic director who pens
regular articles that feature prominently on a well organized
website. All of this and more reflects
well on the university and the Southland Conference as a whole. Personally, I am glad to see two Christian
schools like ACU and UIW actively live out their mission rather than be
defensive about it. It's the pride that
I've always had in Baylor as my alma matter despite our recent troubles and embarrassments.
I'm not going to lie - when I saw ACU play earlier this
season at the Texas Tech Tournament, I thought they were awful. We were invited to Lubbock alongside them,
but didn't play one another. I watched
two of their matches and for one full set I sat next to head coach Debbie
Humphreys discussing our game plan and the day's events. When she sat down she asked me what I saw in
ACU and my response was "Little.
They are so un-athletic . They
appear almost feeble." They were
getting smashed - I mean DESTROYED - by Texas Tech. Now, clearly the Red Raiders had more talent
and so I knew it wasn't the best match to judge them by, but I'll admit I was
pretty rejective.
But then came Thursday (what seemed like Friday) the 13th
of October. #MoodyMagic they called
it. SFA got sent home on a
looooooooooong bus ride after our only five-set loss of the year. The next time Debbie Humphreys and I were in
the gym together I asked her if she felt like ACU had improved since we had
seen them in Lubbock and she was very complimentary. Let me make it clear that Humphreys was never
dismissive of the Wildcats. That was all
me. I felt confident enough in the trip
to Abilene that I was willing to engage in (and lose) gif wars with ACU fans on
Twitter. ACU went on to beat Sam Houston
two days later. Then they beat Northwestern
State and HBU and finished their home slate a perfect 9-0.
Now, compliments in place, both schools have plenty of work to do and areas to
improve upon heading into the off season.
UIW has to solidify their setting
and libero positions - two important pieces if they are going to contend in
2017. ACU has to replace a blocker and
learn how to sprinkle some of that Moody Magic to other venues. You can't play 30 games at home and ACU was
3-9 on the road and completely winless on neutral courts - which is exactly
what they'd be facing if they were headed to Conway this weekend.
But, when the Cardinals and Wildcats step out on the
floor for the first time in 2017 they will be rightful heirs to full membership
in the Southland Volleyball club.
They've earned their due respect and have bided their time honorably.
If they each bus to Corpus Christi this time next year,
then let's remember the road that will have been paved.
If Autumn Lockley
is thundering down kills and Bryaunea Hall turning away attacks, it will be
players like Shaina Garza, Angelique Vidaurri, Brittany Dear and others that
will deserve credit. If I'm blessed
enough to be calling their games like I will be doing for others next weekend,
I'll make sure people remember.
If Jacey Smith and
Kendall Bosse connect on offense and Amanda Chapa is digging balls while ACU
faithful have on 2017 SLC Tournament t-shirts in the stands, then let's not
forget the names Lexi Mercier, Jennifer Loerch, Sarah Siemens, Madison Hoover, Dorothy
Swanson, and others that have made it possible.
I know their names. It's my JOB
to know their names. Their story will be
told in these spaces and on the airwaves.