Getting the culture right

After going 2-15 last season, UTRGV Volleyball Head Coach Todd Lowery told The Rider the team’s goals this year are to establish a team culture and focus on strength and conditioning.

“The big thing for us was we were going to get the culture right this year,” Lowery said. “And I think that’s what we’ve focused on so far, is doing things the right way and doing those things the right way all the time. And I feel like after that, the wins and losses, all that kind of stuff, will fall into place. But, getting the culture right, playing for each other and playing hard every day, and valuing every point that we go out and play has been our focus.”

He said some of the ways the team is trying to get the culture right is by talking about their priorities and making choices on and off the court that align with the vision and allowing student athletes to be the best versions of themselves.

“I think that was one of the hardest things to manage, was team dynamics during the COVID year,” Lowery said. “The girls were kind of separated away from everybody, separated from each other, even a little bit into their own apartments, no fans.”

Asked what his thoughts were about last season, Lowery replied, “Last year was definitely a rough go for us, you know, for whatever reason, things just didn’t fall into place.”

The team had a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) record of 2-13 last season. The team had a 1-5 home record and 1-8 away record.

With eight newcomers on the team, Lowery said it is a lot of new faces that he expects to play big roles this season.

“We expect to see Ioanna [Charitonidi] in the libero spot,” he said. “She was with us last year [but] couldn’t play. Luanna [Emiliano] and Julia [Abramo Rocha], both two new setters on the court. … New middle in the gym [with] Perris [Key], Maria [Eduarda Rodrigues]. A whole bunch of people that we expect to play, you know, big parts for us this year.”

Newly hired Assistant Coach Paulina Ramirez, who played volleyball for UTRGV from 2016 to 2019, told The Rider she is excited for this upcoming season.

Asked how the experience of being a student athlete in the program will benefit her as a coach, she replied it acts like a bridge between the coaches and players.

Ramirez said, since she knows what it feels like to be a player on the court, she gives her opinion on certain things done in practice or gear that is used based on her experience and what the players tell her.

A goal she has for the team is to be confident and trust each other.

“It’s very important,” Ramirez said. “Hitters have to trust that they can go out there and hit it hard and go as aggressive. And knowing that your teammates are going to be there for covering you, or your teammates are going to be there if you’re having a bad serving day, that your teammates on the bench are going to be screaming as loud as [they] can, and are going to be ready for you to, like, pick you up when you’re having those bad days.”

Strength and conditioning

Another focus of Lowery’s this season is “pushing the athletic side of things forward.”

“We’ve really focused in on strength and conditioning over the summer and early on during the fall,” Lowery said. “And, I think we’re in far better shape than we were last year, and we’re a little bit more physical than we were.”

Veronika Jandova, senior middle blocker returning for her fifth season with the program, told The Rider she is emotional about it being her last year.

“So, I wasn’t really thinking about it as my last year, but now that I know it’s really, like, actually, my last year, I’m kind of emotional, but I’m really excited for the season,” Jandova said. “My team is looking really good, so I just want to leave without any regrets.”

Asked what the team has been working on, she said strength and conditioning due to the injury riddled season they had.

“We had a lot of injuries last season, and I think it was because we weren’t as strong,” Jandova said. “So, like, our body couldn’t handle, you know, all the pressure of playing, but I think for all of us, like, getting stronger physically, but also mentally is probably the biggest thing now.”

Ramirez said a goal she wants for the team this season is to be mentally strong.

“To be able to, like, handle the tough times in practice, the tough times in the end of a match, the tough times when it gets to that middle of the season or middle of school and they’re handling, like, school stuff, family stuff, like, social stuff, volleyball stuff,” she said.

Ada Bulgur, freshman outside hitter who earned WAC All-Freshman Team honors, told The Rider she is excited to start her second season with the program and that the team has a lot of energy on the court.

Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, she said she spent the summer back home practicing with her former team and conditioning.

“I was doing conditioning, I was doing weights, everything and it helped me a lot,” Bulgur said. “I didn’t just lay down.”

She said her focus is on the team and that she just wants to win games after a frustrating season plagued with injuries.

“The team [was] all injured,” Bulgur said. “That’s why, like, we were frustrated, and I don’t want to do it again.”

Schedule and return of fans

Lowery said the team could fare well in the preseason schedule.

“That was kind of our goal, get on track here during preseason, but we definitely have some challenging matches in there,” he said. “[University of Texas at El Paso] is a very, very good team this year. [Texas Christian University], obviously, a Big 12 team. And then, the two games against [Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi] out of conference will be big for us as well.”

The season kicked off last Friday at the New Orleans Invitational, where the Vaqueras faced Tennessee State University, University of New Orleans and Alcorn State University. Results were not available at press time.

The first home game will be at the UTRGV Tournament at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 in the Fieldhouse, where they will face off against the University of Louisiana Lafayette. The team will also play against the University of the Incarnate Word, Texas Southern University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi during the tournament.

WAC play will be different this season as Abilene Christian University, Lamar University, Sam Houston University and Stephen F. Austin University were added to the Southwestern Division alongside UTRGV and Tarleton State University.

With the addition of the new teams, Lowery welcomes the challenge.

“We’ll have to see where the chips fall,” he said.

Lowery said he wants to see the Fieldhouse packed and “rockin’” again like in 2018, 2019.

“We’ve had one of the best crowds in the WAC over the last four or five years,” he said. “All that got taken away from us last year, not having students on campus and limited capacity.”

Lowery said the team has worked hard during the preseason and are excited to be in front of fans and play volleyball.

“I think if students do come out, they’re going to enjoy what they see,” he said. “We have just an amazingly fun group … that are going to put on a show. They’re going to play for the crowd.”