Second-ranked Scorpions return to NAIA national tournament

Advancing to the NAIA national championship tournament is becoming an annual occurrence for the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College volleyball team.

The second-ranked Scorpions (26-2) have qualified a third straight year for the NAIA nationals beginning Tuesday in Sioux City, Iowa. Also, it’s their fourth trip to nationals in five years. UTB-TSC enters the 32nd annual event as the No. 2 seed in the 24-team tournament.

The Scorpions were eliminated in the semifinals one year ago to finish 38-2. They reached the quarterfinals in 2009 and 2007. All three times, the Scorpions lost to eventual national champion Fresno Pacific (Calif.).

UTB-TSC has been ranked either first or second in the NAIA Top 25 since the season began.

"I’m happy because last year we didn’t have the opportunity to be ranked No. 1 during the season," said Danica Markovic, a 5-foot-11, sophomore outside hitter for the Scorpions. "But my teammates and the coaches agree that it’s not really that important to be ranked No. 1 during the season. It’s more important to be ranked No. 1 after the national tournament, which is our goal, of course.

"We’ve been getting ready and preparing to meet our last goal of being No. 1 in the country (in the final rankings)," she added.

The Scorpions, three-time Red River Athletic Conference champions, have pool-play matches scheduled at 5:45 p.m. over the next three days, beginning Tuesday against Mid-America Nazarene (28-7), against Missouri Baptist (36-4) on Wednesday and against Fresno Pacific (15-11) on Thursday. Tournament quarterfinals are set for Friday with semifinal and final matches on tap Saturday.

Third-year UTB-TSC coach Todd Lowery is quite accustomed to taking teams to the NAIA national tournament. Prior to coming to UTB-TSC, Lowery coached six years at National American University in Rapid City, S.D., where he took squads to nationals every season, winning the NAIA title in 2002 and 2006 and finishing with 41-0 records both times.

Lowery was asked if his current UTB-TSC squad compares favorably with his two championship teams at NAU.

"We’re right there (with those teams)," he said. "We’re there athletically. Those (NAU) teams were a little more experienced, I would say. The players on those teams were a little bit older. (Now in the NAIA) we’re recruiting younger athletes than we did back then. But athletically, I think we’re a little more gifted than my NAU teams.

"We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing on this (UTB-TSC) team," he added. "That feels good because these girls are only going to get better. As they get to be juniors and seniors, they’re going to be scary players.

"Coaching this group of girls has been pure enjoyment. Having a group like this has made the past three months (of the season) just fly by." 

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.