UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

WATCHING A Longhorn volleyball game at Gregory Gym – in the heat of the University of Texas campus – isn’t quite like anything else. I’ve seen and covered many of the team’s matches over the past several seasons, but always reported from high above the east end of the court. I was out of harm’s way and somewhat removed from the action.

All that changed Nov. 29-30 when ….

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Texas hosted the NCAA tournament’s first and second
rounds, where the Longhorns faced Colgate, Texas A&M and North Carolina State.
For those two days, as well as for the Austin Regional that followed a week later, the university moved the press to the west end of the court and onto the floor level.

I was right in the line of fire and close enough to see the beads of sweat on the upper lips of the players using every inch of the court to build momentum. I sat directly behind the
middle of the court and figured that, with the players’ level of skill, I’d be in little danger of
being hit by a kill — including the ones attempted in front of me. Surely, even on the most
powerful of smashes, a defender would get a piece of those kills, slowing down the shots enough to keep them from heading my way with full force.

My assertion of safety was verified during the initial firstround match between A&M and North Carolina State, which the Aggies won in four competitive sets. A few shots made it to the press table, but all were deflected before heading my way.

Things changed when Texas began its match against an overwhelmed Colgate team. In the first set alone — with Texas defending the east side of the court and hitting directly toward me — I knocked down three kills that had hit the floor without so much as a fingernail of deflection from the Colgate defenders.

When the Longhorns switched sides and attacked away from me, I busily worked at my laptop. Working on deadline, I started my article of the match, keeping track of every kill, block and point in a choreographed routine. But then I got a little too cocky for my own good. In the third set, I continued to work with by head down after the Longhorns moved back to the west side and began hitting my way.

Little time passed before a kill from Texas’ Khat Bell landed untouched and inside the backline of the court. The ball bounced up and hit me square in the forehead before bouncing back to the floor. The incident happened so quickly that the fans didn’t even have a chance to laugh at me or the situation. I tried not to rub my forehead in case anyone looked my way. I quietly closed my laptop and gave the match in front of me — which Texas easily won in three sets, setting the table for a win against Texas A&M in the second round — my full attention.
After the match I retreated to the men’s room and looked in the mirror to assess the damage. All was well besides a faint outline of a rounded, underscored “m” just above my left eye. Molten is the official game ball of the NCAA championships and had left a fleeting impression on me.

Clearly, this reporter’s opinion of the Texas volleyball team is far from fleeting — the Longhorns are a combination of power, finesse, grace and poise. We’ll know by the time this issue is in your hands if the Longhorns found a way to break
through and win the NCAA women’s volleyball championship.

But rest assured these women have already left an impression on me, as well as a simple lesson — never
take your position for granted, especially if it’s at the end of a volleyball court.

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