On top of their game: Award in hand, UVU’s volleyball team is honored again for its success in athletics and academics
Ryan Dangerfield, Staff Writer, @ryandanger23
First appearing in print September 22, 2014
Within recent years, the volleyball team has been very successful on and off the court, succeeding in the win-loss column as well as academics.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced its 2013-14 AVCA Team Academic Award recipients last month, and Utah Valley University earned the prestigious honor for the sixth time in the program’s history.
“I think the girls really work together with each other, and for each other, to achieve their goals academically,” said Daniel Jones, an assistant coach with the volleyball team. “I know for a fact (that) professors do not take it easier on student athletes. Some professors even make it a little more difficult on them, because they expect high standards from them.”
The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
“At the beginning of the year, we had a team meeting where we committed ourselves to specific goals for sports and academically,” said McKenna Tait, a captain on the volleyball team. “About how to behave in class, and not using cellphones while in class.”
Recently, the volleyball team has also been successful on the court as well, finishing third place last year in the Western Athletic Conference.
The volleyball team listed some of the things it thinks lead to success.
Passion and desire: Whether it be a sport, or academics, or even in a relationship will influence how much hard work a person is willing to put into it to be successful.
“Teamwork and being willing to sacrifice for the sake of the other members of the team makes a team successful,” said Kalani Norris, a co-captain.
Discipline: This refers to the willingness to work toward a goal even when you do not want to. Jones said, as coaches, their job is to foster passion and desire and to help players develop discipline.
“One of the biggest things our team is currently working on to improve as a team is consistency,” said Cassie Wahlin, also a captain. “Being able to play our ‘A’ game all the time.”
“I think the most important thing to have in a successful team is having a group of individuals who are willing into a system,” said coach Sam Atoa, head coach of the volleyball team. “It is also important to have a team willing to put in the time and effort necessary to be successful.”