Lauren Adams' Volleyball Diary: 12/05/06
12/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 5, 2006
We began this season by setting a series of goals, and after accomplishing ALL of them, our season came to an end. We set out for our trip to the NCAA tournament in true SFA style, aboard a bus from Chuck's Travel driven by a guy named Tex. When we arrived at Gregory Gym in Austin, we were guided to our locker room so we could change for practice. The locker room was enormous, complete with 14 individual showers and a dry sauna. We represented Nacogdoches as humanly possible . . . by running around the complex like we had never seen a gym before. After we finally composed ourselves, we were able to have a good practice and then we headed for the hotel.
Once we arrived at our hotel, we knew we had hit it big time. We all had suites and there was a rumor that the breakfast served at the hotel in the morning included some made-to-order items. When we awoke the next morning, we ate a fabulous breakfast and then got our minds set on the big game ahead.
We arrived on the court for warm-up, but we had not yet seen our opponent. They finally arrived on the court about 15 minutes into the official game warm-up and they were big. Their height did not intimidate us, as we prepared for the game like any other. We won the first game, but were unable to finish Games 2 and 3. Once we pulled through in Game 4, I knew game would be no problem. During the fifth game, when we had 14 points, I looked down the bench to see Coach trying to stay focused on earning that last point, but she knew we had won and couldn't help but let a little smirk leak out.
When the game was over we all rushed the court. It looked like we had just won the national championship. We were all so excited to have finally have earned a little respect. We enjoyed the feeling of the win, but knew we faced Goliath the next day.
The game versus Texas was closer than the scores showed. Don't get me wrong; there were several occasions where one of the 6'5" mammoths would over power us, but for the most part we made them rally and work to earn their points. In the third game, Texas tried to pull some starters, but as soon as they came out, they had to go right back in as we began to go on a run. UT regained their composure and was able to finish the third game and win the match.
Our loss to UT marked the end of our 26-match win streak, our season, and my time as a Ladyjack. Though I am sad it's over and will truly miss it, I could not have asked for a better senior season. I did not cry at the last game, maybe because we had such a successful season or maybe because I know (since I am taking my sweet time to graduate) I will see my teammates on a regular basis, but on Monday when I found myself walking to class not worrying about whether or not I would have time to grab a Diet Coke before practice, it hit me. I cried like a four-year old during my cultural anthropology class. I tried to pretend that I was just really moved by the story of the destruction of the Mayan culture, but I don't think anyone bought it.
I am just really glad to have been a part of this program and am honored to be associated with it. I hope that in the years to come that it can earn the respect it deserves from the NCAA, the conference, and SFA. To all of you who supported us this season, thank you, and to all my teammates junior - freshmen remember, next semester while you are pumping iron and running your rear ends off at 6 o'clock in the morning, I will be asleep.
