Jen Scholz Digs Spartan Volleyball
Jen Scholz is not your typical University of Tampa freshman. In addition to balancing the schedule of a standard student, Scholz is a contributing member on UT's nationally ranked volleyball team.
The Orlando native began developing interest for UT after attending a volleyball camp at the school. The libero had achieved great success during her time at Winter Park High School, being named Team MVP and Captain, and had known from a young age that she wanted to pursue volleyball at the collegiate level. She quickly became attracted to the national caliber volleyball team when she received overwhelming interest from coaches Chris Catanach and Jeff Lamm.
The results of landing Scholz have worked out extremely well for the UT coaching staff. The freshman has recorded 239 digs on the season, leading the team with 3.10 digs per set. She also posts one of the top serve percentages on the team (.924) with 11 service aces on the year.
Such achievements have not gone unnoticed by opponents in the conference. On October 1st, Scholz was named the Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Week, an accomplishment not generally won by freshmen.
It is clear to say that the future looks bright for Scholz, who attributes her strong play to the coaches and watching her Spartan teammates. Scholz specifically complimented senior teammate Jessica Yingling, whom the freshman calls her role model in the sport.
"I learn a lot from watching Yingling," explained Scholz of her captain. "I feel like we play similarly but she just has it down since she's been here for four years."
Although she does not have the experience of a senior, Scholz plays remarkably well for a freshman in the conference. The newcomer believes her best games on the season came at Rollins College on September 21st and at Eckerd College on October 10th.
The game at Eckerd College was certainly a memorable one for the Spartan faithful. Tampa was consistently challenged throughout the night, and found themselves one point away from a loss, trailing 22-24 in the fourth set. The Spartans rallied to a 27-25 victory with Scholz delivering the final point on a well-placed dig turned attack.
"It was so fun getting the last point," Scholz said of the outstanding play. "I threw myself at the ball and it went over."
Scholz recorded a season high 23 digs in the five set thriller. To make this game even more memorable, the victory was the 1,000th win in program history, making Tampa the eighth school to reach the impressive milestone.
As for the match at Rollins earlier in the year, Scholz recorded 18 digs in front of her hometown friends and family, as the Spartans took home the win in three set fashion.
Tampa is currently sitting on the top of the Sunshine State Conference standings with a perfect 12-0 mark in SSC play and a 23-3 overall record. When asked about the season outlook, Scholz acknowledged that although the team is young, the remainder of the year looks positive.
Scholz described how a turning point occurred in a game against Christian Brothers on October 20th. She explained that the team finally "got it" and started playing really solid volleyball. This was great insight from the freshman, as the Spartans are 5-0 since that night, and have done so without surrendering one set.
Regarding volleyball goals for her career, Scholz responded with, "I would like to win a National Championship." The hot streak displayed by the Spartans as of late shows that this goal is quite possible for Scholz to achieve her freshman season.
When it comes to life outside of volleyball, the physical education major would like to get involved with other campus activities in addition to being a student athlete. She hopes to eventually return to the Orlando area and work at a school as the PE teacher and volleyball coach.
As for right now though, the focus is on the remainder of this exciting volleyball season, as Tampa seeks to remain perfect in SSC play and make a run at the National Championship.
Written by Mike Leone