In Meredith Peacock’s freshman season for the University of North Carolina Wilmington volleyball team, she experienced just three wins in conference play.
After the “volleyhawks” defeated William & Mary on Friday, Nov. 6, three wins was all that separated the senior from Charlotte and her team from a share of the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title and a chance to host the conference tournament.
“That would be really big,” Peacock said after the game. “I’ve been bragging to everyone about how amazing it’s been to come from my freshman year to where we are now, fighting for the No. 1 seed.”
The Seahawks couldn’t keep their winning streak going, however, dropping a match on the road at College of Charleston on Nov. 10. At 20-7, UNCW could still finish near the top of the conference standings, but won’t be able to share the title or host the CAA tournament.
“There was a lot on the line for this match, but I’m proud of the fight our players showed,” said head coach Amy Bambenek. “Offensively it was a strong night overall, except for the third set. Against tough opponents, you want to strive for consistency. It was good to play a pressure match like this and feel we will be that much better in our next matches because of it.”
The climb from the cellar to a conference power is the work of Bambenek, who in her seventh season has turned the page on nearly two decades of perpetual losing to return the team to the winning tradition it established in the 1980s and early 1990s.
“It took a while to get the right players in, but we now have talent and leadership in all of our classes,” Bambenek said, attributing some of the recruiting strength to improved volleyball facilities.
The team’s three seniors were honored the following Saturday night, and they made their last appearance in Hanover Hall count, dominating over Elon in a three-set sweep.
Leading this year’s seniors is Peacock, who represents a key element in Bambenek’s gameplan: blocking. With 129 blocks this season, Peacock has become the second-leading blocker in Seahawks history. She’s joined by seniors Lindsay Hartmann, who leads the team in digs this year with 375, and Victoria Phillips, who is ninth all-time in assists for the Seahawks.
“That senior class, their work ethic is impeccable,” Bambenek said. “Those girls are in there working so hard every single practice and they’re self driven. That’s really nice to have in a senior class.”
The team’s rise to the top of the conference didn’t just come from dedicated practices, Peacock said, but also improved camaraderie among the players.
“We got closer off the court,” Peacock said. “I never thought that would make such an impact but it really has.”
Perhaps no game had more of an impact than this year’s match against in-state rival North Carolina, where the Seahawks beat the Tarheels in Chapel Hill, providing Peacock with what she said was so far the highlight of her career at UNCW.
“We love playing as underdog, that’s what we did in my freshman and sophomore year,” Peacock said. “They never wanted to play us before and that was the most amazing experience.”
The success of this year’s Seahawks team isn’t a secret. In the cozy environment of Hanover Hall, fans provide the noisy support that players and coaches can’t ignore. With the fans filling the stands, for the first time ever, the team played a pair of matches in Trask Coliseum this season.
“It can get so loud that when we’re in timeout, we can’t hear anything,” Bambenek said.
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