NEW ORLEANS - Despite their setback this past
weekend to UALR after defeating Arkansas
State, the University of New Orleans
volleyball head coach Jozsef Forman has pushed the bar higher for the program
in his short time on the Lakefront.
Through this weekend's matches,
RichKern.com has ranked the Privateers at No. 74, the highest in-season
national ranking ever for the UNO program. The highest end of season ranking
occurred in 1998 when the team finished at 110. The only other squad to finish
amongst the top 125 in this respected ranking system was the 1997 squad, which
finished 115.
Continuing their rise on the
national level, Forman's team has ranked amongst the national leaders in
several categories. Entering play this past weekend, UNO ranked 12th in kills
per set (14.30), 22nd in assists per set (12.86) and 26th in hitting percentage
(.270). Additionally, Dobrilla Kovacevic ranked 23rd in kills per set with a
4.19 average.
Forman's team started the season
strong, opening with an undefeated weekend while winning the Auburn War Eagle
Invitational, the team's first tournament title and undefeated weekend since a
2005 appearance in an event hosted by Southeastern
Louisiana. During the weekend, UNO upended Auburn
to give the Privateers their first win over an SEC team since 2002 when they
defeated Mississippi
State.
Two weeks later while in Lubbock, Texas,
the Privateers defeated another school from one of the "Big Six"
conferences with a win over Texas Tech. The win represented the first in eight
tries against the schools that currently make up the membership in the
conference, a string that dated back to a 1982 win over Baylor in the Sam
Houston State Invitational.
"In order to reach the NCAAs,
we need to be able to play a high level of volleyball," said Forman.
"It is important for us to not just play matches against teams from the
Big 12, SEC and the other major volleyball conferences, but to beat them."
For Forman's team to accomplish such
success, he looks to a pair of seniors in Kovacevic and Jaci Bayley, who have
put their names throughout the school record books during their five years in
the program. Granted an extended stay thanks to the 2005 season being wiped off
the slate due to Hurricane Katrina, the two seniors are on track to join the
graduating class of 1992 as the only players to have non-losing seasons during
their entire time on the Lakefront.
Things have not always been easy
this season for the Privateers, straight from the opening serve of the season.
As the team left for Auburn, Ala.,
the city of New Orleans tracked Hurricane Gustav
in the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly after arriving
at Auburn, it was determined the team would stay there following their matches
as the Crescent City got back on it's feet, with several areas including the
UNO campus itself, without power.
Despite it all, the team persevered.
Using Auburn's facilities, the team continued
their focus and kept up with practices, before making a long bus ride to Dallas, Texas
to take part in the SMU Radisson Invitational. Following an opening loss to
Stephen F. Austin, the Privateers stormed back with wins over SMU and Montana, having a chance
to win the tournament pending the results of the final contested match between
SFA and SMU. The victory over SMU, seving as the first victory over a
Conference USA team since 2002.
Another challenge standing in the
way for Forman, was his lack of an assistant coach for several weeks into the
season. Knowing that he needed someone with a strong knowledge of the game and
the ability to teach at a high level during his demanding practices, the
Privateer head coach hired Teiming "James" Li to join him.
A former Chinese men's national team
player and one of the top defensive players in the world during his time
playing on the world stage, Li came to the Lakefront after spending the last
year as a guest coach for the United
States women's national team that won silver
at the Beijing Olympics.
Sun Belt play, already in season
will be a daunting task for a program that will look to set itself for the best
possible seed in the conference tournament. A high seed will allow the program
to overcome the hurdle of winning the conference tournament, which would grant
them automatic access into the NCAA tournament.
Historically, the program has only
has only gotten past the Sun Belt semifinals once in school history, a 2000
runner-up appearance when the tournament was played at the Lakefront Arena. The
program also had a 1987 runner-up finish in the old American South.
"As we continue to play a
higher level of volleyball, the conference also continues to play at an even
higher level, which means our players have to be ready each match against the
Sun Belt," said Forman. "This conference won 17 tournament titles in
the preseason this year and has several players worthy of All-American
status."
At the end of the forthcoming trip
to Denver and North Texas, the second year coach
looks forward to playing two matches at the Human Performance
Center the next week.
“We had a very loud and spirited
crowd,” said Forman of the 360 fans in attendance at the home opener against Nicholls State. “The home crowd can mean several
points to our squad, points that could give us the win against the talented
teams we have coming into our facility. Our team feeds off the enthusiasm and
energy from our fans.”
With a growing fan base, a skillful
new assistant and two senior players committed to seeing the program pushed
forward in their senior year, Forman continues to have the tools necessary to
push his program forward, raising the bar even higher for the expectations of
the program.
