#Winning

By Jordan Schraeder in 40 Acres, March | April 2015, Sports on February 26, 2015 at 2:51 pm | No Comments

Take a look back at UT volleyball’s 2014 season through the team’s most-used hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.

Going into the 2014 NCAA Semifinals this past December, the second-ranked UT volleyball team had stats—and history—on its side. Hot off claiming their fourth Big 12 title in as many years, the Lady Longhorns also held the honor of being the only squad in the nation to advance to the NCAA Regionals in each of the past nine years. But more than anything, the Texas team had something to prove, after a heartbreaking upset by unseeded Wisconsin put the kibosh on its championship dreams back in 2013.

Unfortunately, revenge wasn’t on the agenda for the Longhorns in 2014. For the second year in a row, UT was ousted by an unseeded team in the Final Four, this time by BYU and a crippling block by its 6-foot-7 outside hitter.

The loss was an unfortunate end to a season during which the Longhorn squad saw big wins both on and off the court. Among them: setting a new record for consecutive home victories, breaking ground on a new practice facility, a Tower lighting to honor its conference title win, and a top-ranked 2015 recruiting class, to name a few. One other surprising victory was the team’s growing presence on social media, where the players—and even head coach Jerritt Elliott himself—took to tweeting and Instagramming to connect with Longhorn fans on a whole new level.

“We want to encourage all of our fans to be involved,” says Elliott of increased engagement on the team’s social media channels. “It’s always important to have a social media presence and publicize our successes and the great personalities we have on this team.”

Here’s a look at @TexasVolleyball’s most used hashtags of the 2014 season.

#TiffsTweets

Outside hitter Tiffany Baker says her redshirt season in 2013 helped improve her leadership skills—and she apparently honed her social media prowess, too. Periodically throughout the 2014 season, Baker took over the @TexasVolleyball Twitter and Instagram accounts to answer fan questions, which ranged from the most challenging aspect of being a student athlete to who was the Beyoncé of this year’s team. (The answer: Chiaka Ogbogu and Khat Bell have nice voices, but apparently Chloe Collins is tone deaf.) Above, Baker shared selfies from the team’s trip to Minneapolis for the NCAA Regionals.

#WhenTheyWereLittle

All together now: Aww! Last fall, the team rounded up adorable baby photos of each player and posted them to Twitter and Instagram. Texas volleyball’s social media fandom then had the opportunity to guess who each of the little munchkins grew up to be. (The animal-loving toddler above is sophomore outside hitter Paulina Prieto Cerame; freshman setter Chloe Collins is in the dress.) Engaging fans in guessing games like this one has helped the team’s social media following skyrocket to more than 26,000.

 

#LonghornLegends

UT’s version of Throwback Thursday, the #LonghornLegends hashtag offered a rare introduction to members of Longhorn volleyball past, including Samy Duarte (1991-94) and Carrie Bush Dodd (1992-95, pictured above.)

In 2014, one such legend was inducted into the UT Women’s Athletics Hall of Honor: Katy Jameyson Garza, a two-time All-American and one of the top volleyball players in school history. Our favorite part of this hashtag: Getting a peek at the shockingly scanty burnt-orange Spandex briefs that were once part of the Longhorn uniform. So retro!

Tags: Final Four, jerritt elliott, ncaa, volleyball