Creighton volleyball re-launched in 1994. Since then, there have been only three people to hold the head coaching position. Since Kirsten Bernthal Booth was hired in 2003, she has went on to be the Creighton all-time winning coach with a 141-101 record heading into 2011.
However, previous to Booth’s tenure, the Bluejay volleyball team was led by Howard Wallace. Wallace took over the program before the 1997 season. That year, Creighton went 15-13 and finished third in the conference earning their first MVC tournament appearance. Wallace went on to win MVC Coach of the Year honors. After the 2002 season and a career record of 68-94, Wallace left the Creighton volleyball program.
Creighton opens their 2011 campaign at an invitational hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. Their first opponent of the season is the University of Texas-San Antonio. ‘So what?’ you may ask. Well, Wallace left Creighton to be an assistant at UTSA. This will be the first match against his former team since leaving the Hilltop.
We caught up with Wallace to give us a preview of the Roadrunners, building volleyball programs, and his time at Creighton. Enjoy.
White & Blue Review: Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the Texas-San Antonio Volleyball program?
Howard Wallace: Well, the program has only been around since 1983. It started out as a Division I program but was not fully funded in the early years. There was a decent amount of success during that time but the year 2000 saw the Roadrunners get to the NCAAs for the first time. Since then, UTSA has always been competitive in the Southland Conference, culminating in our Conference Tournament Championship last year.
WBR: UTSA was recently selected by the media to win the Southland conference this season. Who are the key players in the program that Creighton will need to keep their eye on?
HW: We have a solid core coming back in Kelsey Jewasko (Libero), Kelsey Schwirtlich (setter), Elise Huskey (outside hitter), and Whitney Walls (outside hitter). They were all starters last year and have really set an example for the other players – especially the freshmen. We haven’t finalized our line-up yet, but you can count on those four to be major contributors.
WBR: Both Creighton and UTSA are coming off of NCAA Tournament seasons. How hard is it to put together and NCAA tournament level team in the state of Texas?
HW: One of the biggest challenges is recruiting. There are a ton of good Division I teams in Texas including the likes of Texas-Austin, Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, etc. With everyone vying for the top kids, we have got to show our recruits the great product we have in UTSA. The school is growing by leaps and bounds which has been exciting. Sure, there are some “growing pains”, but overall the growth has been so dynamic and positive that we feel we have become very competitive.
Once we get recruits on our campus and show them who we are and what we have to offer, it is usually a done deal. The addition of football this year has helped and will continue to help all of our sports get more exposure. We have a great administration (lead by Athletic Director Lynn Hickey) that knows what it takes to be successful.
WBR: What kind of expectations are there for the Roadrunner program on a year to year basis? Are they at the level that they can qualify for the NCAA Tournament year after year?
HW: If we aren’t at that level yet, we are pretty darn close. We have the talent to repeat this year and verbal commitments from players for 2012 who will be very good for us even as freshmen. So, yes we feel confident that we will be there every year.
WBR: How has college volleyball changed over the past 10 years?
HW: There are more and more players getting into the game at an earlier age. And, there are a lot more big girls – the 6’2″s and taller. So, I think the players have become more dynamic and the game faster and more powerful. It makes for exciting matches. Having said that I am disheartened by some of the changes with the game itself especially with the rules.
You have to remember that I have been around the game for a long time and have respect for all the skills involved to play it right. Some of the skills have been “diminished” if you will, in an effort to make the rallies last longer. Being from the old school, I feel this has taken away from the quality of our sport as it was intended to be played. Also, I can’t appreciate rules that promote random success such as the allowance of let-serves (that the serve can hit the net).
WBR: You used to be the head coach of the Creighton Volleyball program before Kirsten Bernthal Booth and even earned MVC Coach of the Year honors. What challenges did you have at the helm while at Creighton?
HW: I inherited a program that had not seen a lot of success and was looking for an identity. I remember my first week on the job as pretty challenging. Two players had decided to focus on their academics, and left the team. When I went into the storage closet, I found that we had eight volleyballs total. Apparently the previous coach had been sharing balls with his club program and had not ordered any more for the following year.
But probably the biggest challenge was that we did not have a competition facility so had to play our home matches at area high schools. Regardless, I knew what I was getting into and understood that I needed to do the best job I could with what was in front of me. I must add that between the support of the administration (lead by Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen) and the buy-in from the players, we ended up having a pretty good year.
WBR: Have you followed the Creighton Volleyball program since you left there? From the outside, how has the program changed?
HW: I have followed the program a certain amount. Of course, I have kept in touch with some of the players from my day, but I also have followed the Bluejays’ season results. It was particularly fun to see when they beat someone I knew or a team they had struggles against in the past.
As you might understand, one of the biggest changes I see are the facilities that Creighton has added over the years. I haven’t been in it, but I understand the new D.J. Solkol Arena is awesome. It would be fun to take a team back there to play now. And of course, Kirsten has really put the program on the map over the years especially with getting to the 2nd round of the NCAA’s last year.
WBR: After your time at Creighton, how did you land at UTSA?
HW: I looked around for a while trying to find the right fit. As much as I liked Omaha as a city, the weather was just too much for my family. We came from Hawaii and could never get used to the winters in Nebraska. When I saw the opening at UTSA I knew the climate would be a lot better. So I investigated San Antonio and the school a bit more and felt like it would be a great place to coach. Even though the position was for as an assistant coach, I thought we would enjoy the change.
WBR: What kind of emotions will you have when your current Roadrunner team faces Creighton to open the volleyball season?
HW: It would be more emotional if some of my players were still in the program, but I do have fond memories of my time at Creighton. I will have some mixed emotions of course because I want us to beat them but am happy the program has been so successful since my time there.