Sept. 7, 2009
Coach Dagenais' Notebook archives
Monday, Sept. 7, 2009
So as we roll down the runway of the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport I have this exciting but anxious feeling in my stomach. This was a hard weekend physically and mentally. We are all tired, me included, which has something to do with two hugely emotional matches on Saturday and the 5 a.m. trip to the airport on Sunday. Despite the mental and physical exhaustion, my mind is still racing at 100 miles per hour. I'm not a "moral victory" person, either you win...or you lose. Despite that, I keep coming back to the same thought. I'm not sure that we are very far away from being a nationally prominent team. Actually, we might be a lot closer than I thought.
I looked out on the floor in the 5th game of a great battle with a ranked Big Ten opponent. I look at them, with every starter jumping over 10 feet, some as high as 10'5. They have a senior setter that has been through the rigors of Big Ten competition and they have a libero who has to dig All-Americans night in and night out. They have outside hitters and middles who could possibly be on any team in the nation. Then I look at our side....yep...we have six new full-time starters (out of 7). We have a freshman at the most critical defensive position (libero), we have a freshman at the most critical middle position (M1), we have a freshman at the ever important right side hitter position, we have first year starters at M2 and L2. Seniors Erin Campbell and Andee Youngblood are practically retirees when compared in age to the rest of the players on the floor, and even Andee is in her first FULL TIME year as a collegiate starter. We had every reason to be on the bus already heading back to the hotel, yet here we were in a 15-point shootout with a big time volleyball school, winner take all.
Sure we lost....the fact that it was 15-13 doesn't make it any better. However, what does make it better is the fact that our leadership helped guide these young players to perform without fear of losing. If we can learn this lesson as a young team, and we can just get a few more opportunities to play matches like this, then we are going to break through this abstract barrier in front of us. I don't know if it will happen this year, it could happen next, but I know it's going to happen....and you will want to be there when it does.
Armor Up Knights....that was the best one-win, two-loss weekend in UCF Volleyball history. I'm proud of this group.