For a night last season, the St. Edward's Hilltoppers played a perfect brand of volleyball to sweep the Dallas Baptist University Patriots 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-12) in a complete team effort for a late-season upset. 
 
A strong serve kept the Patriots out of system, the block limited Dallas's attacking lanes, and the passing was on point, setting the table for the Hilltoppers' most balanced, efficient attack of the year. The night was almost flawless. 
 
"We've made two conference tournament finals in five years with that similar formula," St. Edward's first-year head volleyball coach Jared Te'o says. "When we got hot, it was difficult to stop us, but executing the scouting report at an extremely high level was necessary. We have glimpses, but it's sustaining it from the first point to when the match ends."
 
For a few years, St. Edward's volleyball has relied on catching lightning in a bottle to make its significant runs, most recently on its way to the 2021 Lone Star Conference Finals. Te'o would like the program to rely on something more sustainable than Benjamin Franklin flying a kite during a lightning storm. 
 
"There's no reason we shouldn't shoot to consistently be in the eight team conference tournament and put ourselves in a position to eventually make the NCAA Tournament," Te'o explains. "It's going to take time. It won't happen overnight. We're at a great institution in a stellar location, so it's about maximizing our unique resources."
 
SARAH KONOVODOFF returns as a vital part of a defense that was the highlight of a tough season. The senior libero was instrumental in the Hilltoppers stifling attacks and extending rallies.
 
"She steadies our defense, calms down our passers, covers a lot of court, reads the game well, and has a real presence," Te'o exclaims. "She brings the same consistency to practices and matches; Sarah's experienced, and in my opinion, she's the best libero in the conference." 
 
The Hilltoppers also bring back front-row players AUDREY QUESNEL and LOURDES GOMEZ and setter NATALIA WALLS as contributors who played consistent minutes last season. 
 
Audrey is a high IQ middle blocker who quietly fills up the box score, Walls is a setter with enough size to attack, unlocking different strategies, and Gomez is a potential six-rotation player looking to return to attacking form after developing and settling into a more defensive mindset in recent years. 
 
"[Gomez] was known as an offensive hitter who developed into a back-row player. She does have an arm but tends to be defensive-minded instead of just cranking shots," Te'o says. "She's thriving with some of the changes to our tempo and getting back to the player I recruited back in 2018. She's hit a few balls in practice where it was like, 'Oh my God.' She doesn't always do it, but she needs to be that player who just takes rips at the ball." 
 
Live arms have been a missing component for St. Edward's since Alexa McAndrew graduated in 2019. The Hilltoppers have had their share of capable and creative scorers, but few who've been consistently overpowering. 
 
"You can have kids who can score without having a live arm, but when you look at the top programs across the country, they all have kids who can crank a ball with MPHs," Te'o says. "Even when we've struggled, we've always put up good defensive numbers, but you have to have someone who can put the ball away and end rallies." 
 
Te'o has seen a promising first few weeks from freshmen KELLI FORDING and DELANEY GREGORY among others.
 
"They're both very different. Kelli has a very live arm, and Delaney has materialized into a player I wasn't expecting to come along as quickly as she has," Te'o says. "She doesn't overpower you. She's not flashy. She's a beach player, so she's well-rounded, low-error, and has a high volleyball IQ." 
 
Te'o has also recruited a little more size and athleticism across the front row. St. Edward's added ADDY BADLEY, a middle and right-side hitter who transferred from Wichita State, middle blocker CORA YOUNG, right side KAT NEILLE from UTEP, and pin hitter LANDRY BAUGHMAN to a front row that also returns KYLIE LOQUERCIO, CASSIDY COLE, and LAUREN SCOTT. 
 
In the back row, newcomer defensive specialist BRENNA HEFFRON and setter JAIDEN LAVANWAY join a team that returns JORDAN CHAPMAN and JAZZY WILLIAMS. 
 
After a strong spring season and fall training camp, Chapman has emerged as the team's new starting setter in her second year. Her lack of front-row size limits St. Edward's to a 6-2 attack, but her production has made the tradeoff worth it. 
 
"Jordan's just a great leader. She leads by example, communicates well, and builds everyone up," Te'o explains. "She sets a clean ball, runs a good tempo, is efficient, makes great choices, and has been the setter you need to quarterback the offense. I look forward to seeing how she does once we get into actual matches." 
 
Chapman is one of four team captains, alongside Gomez, Cole, and JAZZY WILLIAMS, who make up a leadership council in charge of setting new standards for the team's culture. 
 
"We've kind of reenvisioned what the role of our captains is. We all signed contracts regarding what we want our gym culture to be: envision, embody, and empower," Te'o says. "We're turning to positive communication and holding each other accountable in a productive way." 
 
There's some continuity with Te'o moving up from assistant to head coach, but this is still more of a building than rebuilding year with a heavy mix of newcomers and returning players in new roles working under their new head coach. 
 
The team will have plenty of time to bond on the road, spending its first three weekends away from Austin with its first home match on September 22 against Midwestern State for the conference opener. 
 
"Being on the road is great. It's exciting for the team," Te'o says. "We're looking forward to California. We haven't gone anywhere special in a long time, and this is a great opportunity to go somewhere new and play competitive teams. We play ten teams receiving votes in the AVCA polls this year. It's good to face challenges early." 
 
The first three weeks will focus on who can translate the success from preseason scrimmages and practice into live matches heading into conference play. 
 
"I'm pretty competitive, so I have of course want wins to come. We didn't win many games last year, so I'm not focusing on a big one-year turnaround," Te'o says. "We'll judge success by lots of growth and laying the framework for how we do things as a program going forward."
 
St. Edward's looks to take the sort of serve-and-defend strengths that have made the team a difficult out when everything is clicking and added some size and athleticism that increases its margin of error to close the gap in one of the nation's most brutal conferences. 
 
"We're not the most physical team in the conference and probably never will be," Te'o says. "But we can be a little more intentional with executing and playing smarter volleyball against certain teams while adding some size to take advantage of the opportunities that creates." 
 
In short, Te'o wants to move past trying to capture lightning in a bottle and find a successful formula for St. Edward's volleyball as sustainable as the sun.