UCLA is playing at Towson this week. There, I got your attention. I would have started by saying this is a story about an upcoming volleyball match, but that might not have had the same effect. Because, well, you simply might not know any better. Towson volleyball alone does not turn people's heads around here. It should. The majority of students and the community as a whole are unaware of their accomplishments. They shouldn't be. Because if first year Head Coach Paul Koncir's team was not worthy of your attention, they would not have the No. 3 ranked Bruins leaving sunny Los Angeles for a match-up at the Towson Center Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., for just the second all-time meeting between the schools in any sport. And they certainly wouldn't be talking about an upset. "Within the campus most of them do not really seem to know that we have a volleyball team and I don't know how many check the back page [of The Towerlight] for the sports," senior Christina Grempler said. "But if we were to pull off a win or even take the No. 3 ranked team in the nation to five games, I think that would definitely open the eyes of the Towson community a little bit." It's pretty safe to say that California teams are to volleyball what a certain two North Carolina teams are to college basketball. If you know the sport, you know their names, players, and legacies. UCLA is certainly within that category. Three national championships generally put you in that arena. "It's just a team that you grow up watching and hearing all about," junior Erika Swan said. "Now you have a chance to play against them. It's kind of surreal." These are the opportunities that come with the growth of a program. Two years ago under former Head Coach Chris Riley, the Tigers validated themselves by winning the CAA Championship. Last year, with a completely revamped roster, they made a second consecutive trip to the title game. By doing so they have not only gained recognition within the conference, but around the nation. As a result, the days of playing local teams are, for the most part, over. Now, the focus is on bringing in high-caliber teams and playing in competitive tournaments such as the Best Western South Florida Invitational, which Towson won two weekends ago. "When I was a freshman we used to play Coppin and Morgan every year because we were not that good, and playing the local teams were just kind of the thing that you did," said Grempler, the lone senior to spend each of her four years at Towson. "But now that we've stepped up and we're now playing UCLA, and Florida, and Ohio State it really shows how far we've come in our program in such a short amount of time." They have earned their right to play high-profile teams. Now it is up to them to hold up their end of the bargain. "Ranked third and never played them before, and they're coming on our home court," junior Kim Snider said. "Obviously they think something of us, and we need to prove to them that they should respect us." In match-ups like this the risk falls on the higher-ranked team. There will be shockwaves sent through the volleyball world if Towson wins. Yet there will be no reason to feel distraught if the Tigers lose. "It's an opportunity for us to play our absolute best," Koncir said. "Needless to say, we have nothing to lose in that match-up. We're not favored to win it. So as far as our focus and our energy, it's an opportunity to see what our top end is. To see the utmost of what we can put out, and how long we can do that for." And once the first serve is in the air it is a battle between two volleyball teams, both very capable of making plays and earning points. "They're all so great, but we just go back to basics," freshman Alysha Fanning said. "We're here, we're playing volleyball, we're going to do our thing and they'll do theirs. And I'm sure they're going to have their great kills, their blocks, but we'll have just the same." There will likely be a point in the match where UCLA shows why they are, well, UCLA. They will have a series of kills or a handful of devastating blocks. How the Tigers react to moments like these will play a major role in their performance on Tuesday. "We really have been trying a lot recently to cheer within ourselves and to keep positive no matter what happens," Perko said. "We try to stay focused on our side and what we're doing, and stay together as a team, and try and be as loud as possible is pretty much what we're going to try and do." It was another CAA team last March that turned heads by not only playing, but beating, the nation's top basketball programs. Swann equated their opportunity to that of George Mason's. And she thinks her team's chances of pulling the upset are as good as the Patriot's. "If they can do it, we can do it." If that doesn't get your attention, nothing will. See you there.
In This Corner: UCLA coming to the Towson Center Tuesday: Be There!
Published: Sunday, September 10, 2006
Updated: Sunday, February 22, 2009
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