How Tulsa Volleyball became an entirely different team in the past few seasons.
As the University of Tulsa volleyball team prepares for their conference season, they do so with a confidence practically unheard of prior to the past couple years under head coach Lauren Ramatowski. The Golden Hurricane is moving into the conference season with an impressive 8-3 record. They have dominated these past few weeks, earning big wins over schools like Creighton and the Big Twelve’s University of Arizona. Coach Ramatowski says these wins are important for the team; they allow the players to know that this year’s team has the capability and they don’t have to let the expectations from last year’s conference championship team loom over them. Ramatowski reveals that, though the wins are huge for the team’s belief in themselves, the losses are just as important in revealing areas they may have become complacent. She believes that the four weeks of non-conference games are good for the team because ultimately it is conference play that matters and the team is allowed to see how they can grow before they get there. Sophomore Jill Hanson, last year’s American Athletic Conference Women’s Volleyball Freshman of the Year, echoed the same notion. They saw and felt they have much to improve on from the preseason and also that “they are just as good as anybody, if not better because of our work ethic.” She says that they are excited to step into the next phase of their season because this is what they have been working for ever since the end of their season last fall.
The complete turn around from Tulsa Volleyball in the last few years comes as no shock in the context of Ramatowski’s impressive and extensive experience. Before coming to Tulsa, she acted as assistant coach for her alma mater, Kansas State, and before that she coached for a year at the University of Arkansas. She has coached all levels, including Division I, Power Four and mid-major, Division II and even high school, which she says has given her an understanding of what it takes to be at the highest level, but also the “grind and sacrifice” of the lower levels where the resources may be lacking.
Coming into Tulsa, Ramatowski’s first act with her coaching staff was getting the team aligned with their core values of commitment, love and excellence. These values describe what the coaching staff would like the fans to feel when they come in to watch and engage with the team. These values act as requirements; she needs her players to be committed to the program and the university on the good and bad days. She wants girls who love the game, as she emphasizes that sometimes in college athletics can feel like a job, and she wanted girls who were there because they wanted to be, not because they had to. Hanson says this is what has set them apart from other teams. “We have this confidence and we have this joy, and we rely on and trust each other to do our respective jobs,” she said, confidently adding that the trust and faith they have in one another is unlike many other teams. Finally, shifting the mindset of the players, believing that they could be a winning program began by simply telling the girls they could. Ramatowski describes it as a sort of “light switch” that flipped when she told them that they had the ability to be excellent. Of course, she had to remind them that it would not come easy, and they would have to work twice as hard for it, but that it was completely possible.
The most exciting part of the Golden Hurricane’s season has just begun, as they opened up conference play on Sept. 25, at home against the South Florida Bulls with a convincing victory. This program has been on a steady incline these past few years with no intentions of backing down. Stay up to date with their conference games on ESPN+ or their nine home games this fall. As Hanson and Ramatowski have mentioned, the road to victory is not easy but it is well within the reach of this team.
