Women's Volleyball
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If there is one name that goes hand-in-hand with the overall success of the UT Arlington volleyball program, it is fourth-year head coach Diane Seymour. The Arlington native has been a part of the Maverick program since stepping foot on campus in the fall of 1984.
In her 17 years on the UTA campus, Seymour has helped the Maverick program to 349 victories, seven Southland Conference championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances and a No.-7 national ranking at the end of the 1988 season.
Seymour returned to her alma mater in 1996 as an assistant coach on Janine Smith's staff. In her eight years as an assistant, the team captured two regular season championships and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament, while never finishing lower than fourth in the conference.
Just three weeks prior to the start of two-a-days in 2004, Seymour was named the interim head coach. With a young squad featuring six freshman and just two seniors, the Diane Seymour era began with a thrilling five-game victory over Baylor. The Mavericks trailed 13-9 in the deciding game but climbed back to defeat the Bears for the first time since 1990, 23-30, 31-29, 23-30, 30-28, 17-15.
The victory in the opener was only the beginning as the Mavericks rattled off 13 victories in their first 15 matches and ended the season with an overall record of 24-7 and a 15-5 mark in conference play, good enough for third place. The 15 conference victories marked just the fourth time the team has won at least 15 conference matches in a season. On the way, the team captured tournament titles at the Western New York Invite and the UTA Invitational.
Individual success also followed the team as four players went on to earn all-conference accolades. Junior outside hitter Ashley Van Antwerp became the first all-SLC first team selection since 2002, while seniors Heather Dunn and Caley Smith earned second team honors. Freshman Morgan Rogers earned honorable mention laurels.
After the successful year in an interim role, Director of Athletics Pete Carlon named Seymour the sixth head coach in UTA history on Nov. 22, 2004.
In 2005, numerous injuries and tough breaks contributed to a 6-21 record. Van Antwerp continued her solid play as she earned third team all-SLC honors.
Seymour returned the Mavericks to top of the SLC in 2006 as she guided the team to a 25-10 record, including finishing second in the conference with a 12-4 mark.
The team carried on the tireless work ethic of their head coach as they went 7-1 in five-game matches, including coming back from being down 0-2 to TCU and Sam Houston State.
After finishing second in the regular season, the Mavs advanced to their 15th SLC Tournament championship match in 25 years.
Defense has always been the forte' of Seymour and 2006 was no different as the Mavs set a new SLC record with 2,887 digs. The digs total also establishes a new mark in the NCAA since the 30-point scoring format was instituted prior to the 2001 season.
Individually, libero Ashley Smith re-wrote the UTA and SLC record books with 863 digs, the second highest single-season digs total in NCAA history.
Smith was not the only player to enjoy individual success in 2006 as right-side hitter Torie Dacus earned first-team all-SLC honors, while Smith and setter Emily Nedderman garnered second team laurels.
Seymour came to UTA in 1984, but missed all of the season after undergoing knee surgery.
She worked her way into the lineup in 1985 and contributed 18 kills, 24 digs and 12 service aces in 24 matches as the team went on to go 28-4 and make the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The team was not satisfied with just making the tournament in 1986 as the team went 29-10, captured its second straight conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals. UTA hosted Texas State in an opening round game and defeated the Bobcats in four games before falling in three games to LSU. Seymour would collect 44 service aces on the season, including a school-record eight against Oklahoma on Oct. 15, 1986.
Coming off her second knee surgery, Seymour collected 21 service aces and 110 digs in helping her team to a 32-7 record and their third-straight conference title. The 32 wins is the most by any team since NCAA play began in 1982. The team would knock off Arizona State in an opening round match before falling to Kentucky in the regional semis.
Seymour captained the 1988 squad to 30-4 record and a No. 7 ranking in the final AVCA polls. The team earned tournament wins over Pepperdine and Kentucky before falling to eventual national champion Texas in Austin.
Seymour finished her playing career with 48 kills, 95 service aces and 433 digs in 119 matches and 313 games. Including her red-shirt year, the Mavs went 140-41.
Seymour came to Arlington after earning all-state honors at Arlington High School in 1983. She began her career at Arlington Bowie High School, playing for her college coach Lisa Love.
Seymour earned her bachelor's degree from UTA in 1989.
After her playing career ended, Seymour worked closely with several of the best club teams in Texas and is currently the director of the North Dallas Junior Volleyball Association.