The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga volleyball team has watched from a distance as a number of the school's athletic programs experienced high levels of success.
With a five-player senior class, the volleyball Mocs believe it's their year to take a portion of the spotlight.
"It's an amazing thing to be a part of, to watch and see, but we no longer want to be a bystander," UTC coach Travis Filar said. "We want to be a part of the success."
The Mocs haven't won a volleyball conference championship since 1998, but that hasn't curbed their enthusiasm or confidence in preparation for this season, which starts tonight with the Chattanooga Classic at Maclellan Gym, where UTC faces Valparaiso at 6. On Saturday, the Mocs will play Troy at 12:30 p.m. and Eastern Kentucky at 7 p.m.
In other Classic matches, Eastern Kentucky plays Troy at 3 p.m. today, and on Saturday, Valparaiso plays Eastern Kentucky at 10 a.m. and Troy at 4:30 p.m.
A banner hanging in the gymnasium shows seasons in which UTC volleyball won titles. Although the banner is fairly new, the years on it are not.
"Well, 1998 is about to be the second-to-last on the banner, because we're about to add 2015," senior outside hitter Briana Reid said recently. "I think we have the tools, the staff and the people for sure to do it. We have a lot of different options, because no two players are the same.
"We're all good at different things, but we can also fill in if someone may be lacking in one area. We can now pick up the slack as opposed to making self-adjustments, because now we have someone across the net pushing us to change our shot or our angle."
Having suffered through a four-win season in 2013, that number improved to 13 last season. Five starters return, including junior right-side hitter Kristy Wieser, a preseason All-Southern Conference selection. Meanwhile, Filar brought in a recruiting class ranked among the best in the nation.
The fifth-year coach called his seniors "a special group."
"These seniors were our first full recruiting class," Filar said. "Those kids are an amazing group that have been here and seen and been around everything we've tried to do. They've set the tone as to what the freshmen should come in and be doing. The seniors complement each other in their leadership styles, but on the court as well. I think they have different ways to lead, and they have been able to reach different kids in different ways."
Depth has led to better practices as the fight for playing time intensifies. Filar said the talent level at UTC "is the highest it's ever been in my five years."
The Mocs were picked fifth in Southern Conference preseason polls, but because of the level of competition for playing time, little is known about potential lineups and how much court time given players will receive.
"There's no doubt that the competition within the squad is unreal," senior middle blocker Lauren Gainer said. "We're all fighting for a position to play, which is really rare, especially with 16 players. It's going to be interesting to see who gets on the court and who's fighting to hold who accountable for their position."
Like Reid, Gainer believes the program's championship banner will need an update.
"We've already decided as a squad we're going to win it, so it doesn't matter about the banner, because we know there will be a new number next year," she said. "It starts with the regular-season championship, and after that our next goal is the SoCon (tournament) championship."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/genehenleytfp.