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Volleyball Team Continues Strong Play

by Jeff Kelly

Losing a pair of All-Americans who hold program records for assists and kills in a career typically is reflected in a team’s preseason ratings. So when Austin College lost its all-time leader in assists in Veronica Stephens ’07 and the all-time kills leader in Becca Harpham ’07, it would have been only natural for college coaches to overlook the ’Roos in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason top-25 poll.

Instead, the coaches who vote in that poll awarded the ’Roos with the highest ranking in program history at No. 14. Perhaps that, as much as anything else, is a sign that coach Ed Garza’s program has officially arrived as a perennial national power.

While Garza did lose two of the best in program history in Stephens and Harpham, he returned another All-American in Kaitlin Listol ’08 and brought in six talented freshmen in what is arguably the best recruiting class in his tenure at Austin College.

“This freshman class is very talented,” said Listol of the six newcomers. “I knew the first day of fall camp that Morgan Ballard ’11 was going to make a huge impact on our season. She has such natural ability and she seems to get better and better every week. Having freshmen who can make the plays on the court has really forced all of us to work hard and get better in order to keep our spots on the court.”

Of course, having so many young and untested players requires strong senior leadership, and Listol proved more than ready for the task.

“I really did feel that with Becca [Harpham] and Vee [Stephens] leaving that I would have to step up not only on the court but in the leadership role,” said Listol. “I love having a leadership role on the team and having the underclassmen look up to me. It has been a fairly easy transition for me, mostly because our team is such a great group and we all are so close.”

Behind the strong play of Listol plus Ashley Hummel ’08, Jessica Rose ’09, and Jessica Phillips ’10, the ’Roos quickly proved themselves deserving of their high preseason ranking, racing out to a 9-0 start before falling to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Rhodes in a tough 3-2 battle Sept. 14 at the second SCAC Crossover Tournament.

After stumbling briefly against Rhodes, then against Birmingham-Southern and SCAC favorite Trinity, Garza got his team back on track with 16 consecutive wins to bring them to 26-3 on the year following the fourth and final SCAC Crossover, including a decisive win over Rhodes on the Lynx home floor.

Over the season, the ’Roos had plenty of highlights, with Garza earning the 300th win in his Austin College coaching career and Listol breaking Harpham’s kills record in a Sept. 28 match against Ouachita Baptist at the Austin College Classic.

“I still remember when I got my first win, and my 300th felt the same way,” said Garza of his historic victory. “We were not always a top-25 program. It tookus eight years to reach the top 25, and we have worked hard to stay there. It is much easier to be knocked down from the top than it is to reach the top so we value the journey we have taken to get here.”

Listol and Ballard each earned SCAC Player of the Week honors during the course of the season. For Listol, becoming the all-time kills leader was a goal heading into the season.

“I had no clue that I was close,” said the senior. “It turned out that I had a group of really close friends attend the record-breaking game, so it became much more special that they were there as well as my family.”

While Listol’s continued excellent play was a given heading into the season, one of the most pleasant surprises of the year has been the outstanding play of Phillips, who took over for Stephens after getting sparse playing time as a freshman.

Following such a successful player was a tall task for Phillips, but she proved up to the task, developing into one of the top setters in the conference. Twice she totaled 68 assists and added a 74-assistperformance Oct.13 in a five-game win over Southwestern, placing her in the top five all-time assists for a single match performance. As of the midway point in the season, Phillips was leading the conference in that category.

“Jessica has really stepped up into the setting role and I feel that she has surpassed everyone’s expectations,” said Listol. Garza agreed with his All-American on the performance of the sophomore setter.

“Jessica’s quick emergence has allowed us an early seamless transition, a rarity when changing setters,” said the coach. “We’ve been able to maintain our style of play and run the same systems without having to scale back at all. Our hitters have remained in sync without having to adapt their abilities to fit the new setter. Veronica’s legacy was well established. Jessica will establish her own legacy and she’s making the most of the opportunity to do so.”

The ’Roos clinched the second seed in the inaugural SCAC Tournament in November. To make it an even more special event for the team, Austin College was chosen as the tournament’s first host.

LATE UPDATE: Making it to the championship game of the SCAC tournament Nov. 3, the Austin College ’Roos couldn’t pull out the victory, losing 3-2 to the No. 1-seeded Trinity University Tigers.

Rose had 23 kills and 13 digs for Austin College, and Listol had 20 kills and 23 digs. Phillips had a tournament-high 68 assists.

Listol and Hummel were named to the All-Tournament Team. Listol was named SCAC Player of the Year, breaking the SCAC single-season kill record with 646. Ballard was named the SCAC Freshman of the Year and Garza was named SCAC Coach of the Year.

The ’Roos earned a spot in the NCAA Regional Tournament, yet to begin at press time.

Making a Big Splash

The swimming and diving program entered a new era in the 2007–2008 season as Trey Sullivan took over as head coach. He came to Austin College from the Temple Independent School District, where he served as the aquatic director and head swim coach from 2002 until 2007.

“Trey comes to Austin College with outstanding experience and success coaching swimming at all levels of competition,” said vice president for Student Affairs and Athletics Tim Millerick.

At Temple, Sullivan coached the high school team to a 79-11 record and owns a108-22 overall high school coaching record. Under his direction, eight swimmers earned All-American honors and 21 student-athletes were named Academic All-Americans. In his five years at Temple, Sullivan was named the District Coach of the Year four times and boasted the District Swimmer of the Year in each of his seasons. His girls team won the district championship four times and the boys finished first or second in each of his five seasons.

“I believe Trey’s ability to coach the sport of swimming and diving, along with his connections throughout the state of Texas, will put him in a strong position to advance our swimming and diving program to the next level as we compete in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III,” said Millerick.

“Austin College is great,” said Sullivan. “Everyone has bent over backwards to help me and my family, and I want to say thank you. I am still learning, and I hope to make Austin College proud of what we are doing in the pool.”

The early results in Sullivan’s tenure have been topnotch, with the women’s team winning its first meet of the season and the men coming in second. When it comes to coaching his team, Sullivan enters each meet with specific goals for his athletes.

“In a race I am looking for 100 percent in technique, race strategy, mental toughness, and fitness,” said the first-year Austin College coach. “A swimmer must have great starts, turns, and the will to push past the comfort zone.”

Sullivan also offers a unique outlook on building his team and getting the group to buy into the concepts he teaches, comparing the team to a boat in a storm.

“For the crew to survive the storm and get back safely, each team member must do his or her part and help each other out,” said Sullivan. “If everyone does his job, helps the others out, and is aware of the task at hand, the boat will survive along with everyone in it. On a team, be it a corporate team or a sports team, if everyone is focused on their job, helps each other, and is aware of the mission, that team will gain success. As a coach, my job is to be sure all the members know their job, to be sure they are in the right position, and to be sure they are aware of the mission at hand.”

Ultimately, Sullivan said he is here to teach and help his swimmers become as successful as they can be. So far the mutual respect and admiration have been apparent between coach and team members, and Sullivan could not be more pleased with the members of his Austin College swimming family.

“All of the swimmers have been great,” said Sullivan. “They are all working hard to be the best they can be in the classroom and in the pool. I enjoy talking to them, and they laugh at all my jokes. Who could ask for more?”

Sullivan is a 1989 graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he also earned his master’s degree in 1994.

Mid-Season Updates

Football

The Austin College football team continues making great strides in the second year of the Ronnie Gage coaching era. After an early three-game slide, the ’Roos won three straight games for the first time since the 2002 season. Behind the strong rushing attack led by Ryan Cowley ’08 and Ross Hasten ’09, the ’Roos look to be headed in the right direction to be a force in the SCAC in the near future.

Women’s Soccer

Behind a strong defense led by JoDee Williams ’10, Brooke Adams ’09,and Cari Hubbard ’08, the ’Roos were a strong and competitive team throughout the 2007 season, taking some of the top teams in the SCAC right down to the wire and getting some big wins. With a record of 5-4-3 overall, the ’Roos, led by coach Paul Burns, have proven to be a formidable team in their second season in the SCAC.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team had a frustrating year in 2007, with the transition to new coach Mark Hudson’s offensive and defensive systems a work-in-progress. Despite their 0-11-1 mark, the ’Roos have shown flashes of their potential and what will be in store once they become more familiar with Hudson’s highly technical coaching. With their strong defense and several young scorers, the ’Roos look to be capable of making big strides in 2008.

A Swimmer’s Strength

Marjory Gibson ’08 has become one of the most dominant and decorated athletes in Kangaroo athletics history. In addition to becoming the first Austin College swimmer to win an individual title at the Liberal Arts Championships, she earned the College’s first swimming and diving All-Conference honor in the ’Roos first season as a member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.

She holds four program records and owns the fastest 1650 freestyle time ever recorded in Hannah Natatorium. Gibson’s records include top times in the 200 freestyle, the 500freestyle, the 1000 freestyle, and the 1650 freestyle, all marks that she has topped multiple times. She also has won the team’s Hannah Outstanding Female Swimmer of the Year award in each of the past three seasons with 2007–2008 honors still to be determined.

However, all Gibson’s accolades and records came close to never happening. She very nearly chose to end her swimming career after high school and forego competing at the collegiate level.

“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to devote the time and energy to swimming,” said Gibson. “I’ve been on some teams where everyone was out for themselves and there wasn’t any sense of community. However, I decided to try it. As soon as I began swimming with the ’Roos, I had a support system. I came to Austin College not knowing anyone. Coach Philip Wiggins (who left the College last spring) was always very encouraging and the team was always ready to help with anything.”

As a senior and the team’s leader, it falls to Gibson to help ease the transition of new head coach Trey Sullivan, who took over for Wiggins this fall.

“The transition to having Coach Sullivan has been easier than I expected,” said Gibson. “He’s good about working with all of the swimmers.”

Along with weathering the coaching change, Gibson also has seen the ’Roosmake the switch from an independent swimming and diving program to membership in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, the first conference competition in the team’s history."

“It was odd not traveling to Cedar Rapids, Iowa,” said Gibson of not taking part in the Liberal Arts Championship for the first time in her career. “The SCAC meet was a lot of fun, though. We were competing against teams we see more often.”

With all her achievements, Gibson still believes the opportunity is there to reach greater heights, both individually and as a team. “I keep pushing myself,” said the senior. “I always want to swim faster than I have previously. I’m hoping our team can place higher at the SCAC meet this season. Now that we have an idea of what to expect in this conference, I think we’ll be better prepared. We have a small but strong team this year with a lot of fresh talent, as well as a lot of first-rate swimmers that are coming back strong.”

Despite all her accomplishments and her dominance at Austin College, Gibson is humble when reflecting on her time as a ’Roo. When discussing her greatest accomplishments, she doesn’t point to an individual honor or record, but instead focuses on the tremendous overall experience that she very nearly missed.

“I’m most proud of having had the privilege to swim with the Austin College team. I wasn’t sure I wanted to swim when I came to college, but it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My College experience would have been completely different without swimming — it provides a way to work out stress as well as stay physically fit. I love the challenge of trying to improve. I don’t know what I would have done without it.”