Women's Volleyball 6/18/2020 7:38:00 PM Mike Kirk

Friday Feature: A Look Back At UCO Volleyball History

As we detailed in last week's Friday Feature, women's athletics as we know it now didn't exist back in the 1970s and early '80s. Which actually isn't that long ago if you think about it.

There were a variety of different teams during those years and they played games/matches, but the schedules were often limited and the competitive level didn't approach what it is today.

Which brings us to our look at Central Oklahoma volleyball. There were many interesting tidbits gleaned in researching a program that started play in the mid-1970s, but records were so sketchy from the early years that we will start with the modern era that began in 1987.

That's when the Bronchos brought back volleyball after a three-year hiatus, this time as a full-fledged varsity sport. UCO was in the process of moving from NAIA to NCAA Division II while joining the Lone Star Conference then and the early results weren't pretty, which is a far cry from the current status of the program.

Central went 3-24 in 1987 while getting swept in 21 of those losses and followed with a 3-25 campaign in 1988. Four of the six combined wins in those two years came against intrastate rival Cameron.

The '88 season is remembered for the second-day cancellation of an early-season tournament at Oral Roberts when dozens of players from participating teams suffered eye injuries after being exposed to ultraviolet rays from a broken light in the gym. Nearly the entire UCO team made a middle-of-the-night trip to the emergency room after first-day play. Thankfully, none of the injuries resulted in long-term damage.

Joe Curl's three-year run as head coach ended in 1989 and the Bronchos not only played the most matches (44) in school history that season, but also went 23-21 in beginning a winning tradition that continues to this day. UCO has had only three losing seasons since.

Central had many best-of-three matches in early-season tournaments during the late 1980s and early '90s and once played seven matches in a two-day event. The Bronchos also took on LSC rival Texas A&M-Kingsville twice in one day – either at home or on the road – several times during that span to save both teams on travel.

UCO started the 1991 season 14-1 before hitting the skids and finishing 17-18. The Bronchos also made their first and only trip to Alaska that year, playing two matches against Alaska-Fairbanks (losing both in three) and two more against Alaska-Anchorage (losing both in five).

The 1993 squad was involved in 15 straight sweeps to start the season, going 12-3 in that stretch, and finished 23-14 while earning its first-ever win over perennial LSC and national power West Texas A&M. That set the stage for 1994, a season that ranks as one of the best in program history.

Led by Carrie Hare, Angie Schoof and Amy Hansen, the '94 team started the season 9-0 and went on to capture UCO's only LSC championship. The Bronchos, who went 14-0 at home, also claimed the LSC Tournament title in earning the school's first-ever NCAA Division II national tournament berth.

Central dispatched WTAMU in the first round of the four-team South Central Regional before falling to host Central Missouri in the finals to finish 32-5. It remains a record for single-season wins and included 20 three-set sweeps.

A series of close early-season losses doomed UCO to a 17-20 record the next year, but the Bronchos quickly regained their winning ways in 1996 and there's been only two losing seasons since. The 2000 campaign marked the end of 15-point scoring in sets, which required a team to be on serve to score a point.

Highlighting that 2000 season was the performance of star Alma Brahimaj in an epic three-hour, five-set home win over Cameron. All Brahimaj did was hammer down 46 kills in 125 attacks, with both numbers still counting as school and LSC records.

UCO won its first LSC North Division crown the following year, finishing 26-8. The Bronchos repeated as North champions in 2002, overcoming an 0-2 start with a school-record 22-match winning streak.

Brahimaj, Stacey Meek and Lexy Fortner led the way as Central went 30-7, losing in the LSC Tournament finals to WTAMU and then falling in five sets to Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the Southwest Regional. That was the final season under Mark Herrin, who ended his 13-year tenure with a 304-155 record.

Jeff Boyland took over as head coach in 2003 and UCO went 23-7 while finishing as LSC North co-champions before falling to WTAMU in the LSC Tournament finals. A 21-9 season followed before the Bronchos made another national tournament trip in 2005.

Central claimed the LSC North crown that season before losing to Abilene Christian in the LSC Tournament finals and then fell to the Wildcats again the next week in the first round of the Southwest Regional in a 27-8 campaign.

The Bronchos were back in the national playoffs two years later, with that 2007 club tying the school record for wins in finishing 32-7. Again a runner-up in the LSC Tournament, UCO clipped Fort Lewis in the first round of the Central Regional before losing a four-game semifinal battle to host Nebraska-Kearney.

That was also a magical season for libero Lacie Allen, who set school and LSC records for digs with an incredible 996 in becoming the program's first-ever All-American.

Central struggled some the next five years before getting back on track in 2013 in current head coach Edgar Miraku's second year at the controls, going 24-10 in its second year in the MIAA. The Bronchos started 13-0 the next year in finishing 28-5, but were denied a national tournament berth.

The 2015 season rivals the 1994 and '07 years as the best in school history. UCO won 16 straight in getting off to a 22-1 start, rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Washburn in a scintillating regular season finale – taking the fifth set 26-24 – to capture the conference championship and then was runner-up in the MIAA Tournament.

All-American Barbara Jackson and Whitney Gifford were the ringleaders for the Bronchos, who knocked off MIAA rival Nebraska-Kearney in the first round of the Central Regional before falling to eventual national champion Concordia-St. Paul in the semifinals to end a 31-5 campaign.

Amazingly, the 2016 season was almost as good, though it ended in bitter disappointment. Katy Davis and Allison Barr spearheaded a Central squad that didn't drop a set in a 15-0 home campaign and would up 30-4 overall, but it still wasn't good enough to get the Bronchos into the national tournament in a stacked Central Region.

UCO made it the next year, however, ripping off 17 straight wins during one stretch in finishing 29-6. All-American Taylor Bevis and Jordan Spence led the way for the Bronchos, who were eliminated by Concordia-St. Paul in the first round of regional play.

Miraku led Central to Central a 27-7 campaign in 2018 and the Bronchos finished 18-13 last season as the program's winning tradition continued.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Allison Barr: MB; 5' 10"; Junior

#2 Katy Davis: S/DS; 5' 7"; Junior

#1 Whitney Gifford: DS/L; 5' 6"; Senior

#10 Barbara Jackson: OH/RS; 5' 9"; Senior

#16 Taylor Bevis: OH; 5' 11"; Freshman

#8 Jordan Spence: MB; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#11 Allison Barr
: 5' 10"; Junior
: MB

#2 Katy Davis
: 5' 7"; Junior
: S/DS

#1 Whitney Gifford
: 5' 6"; Senior
: DS/L

#10 Barbara Jackson
: 5' 9"; Senior
: OH/RS

#16 Taylor Bevis
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: OH

#8 Jordan Spence
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: MB