Volleyball's 25: Lyra Vance
Monday, August 18, 2008 | Volleyball
By: Sean Cartell
UF Communications
Editor's Note: This is the 14th of a 25-part daily series on GatorZone.com honoring the great players in Florida volleyball history (in no particular rank or order) leading up to the start of the 25th season since Gator volleyball was reinstated as a varsity sport prior to the 1984 campaign.
Every program has that first great player that fans can remember as setting the tone for countless All-Americans and All-Conference selections for decades to come. For the University of Florida volleyball team, that player was Lyra Vance (1984-87).
Volleyball began at Florida in 1974, but following the 1978 season was discontinued as a cost-cutting measure. According to Lady Gators: Simply the Best, by Dr. Ruth Alexander and Dr. Paula Welch, “The University Athletic Association voted to discontinue the women's volleyball and men's wrestling teams. The disappointed and emotional response from the volleyball players eventually faded.”
Five years later, the program was reinstated “to comply with Title IX, which stipulates that when men are offered a fall sport, women must have an opportunity to pursue intercollegiate athletic competition.”
The cover of the team's 1984 media guide featured the theme “A Brand New Look” and the first line of the outlook read “Volleyball is back.”
The squad's freshman setter, Vance, had been a three-sport standout at Tampa Prep and was named the Tampa Female Athlete of the Year. She was described in the team's media guide that season as “A fierce competitor in whatever sport she plays. Vance is noted for her aggressive style of play and her never-say-die spirit.”
Vance led her high school volleyball team to the state championship each of the four years of her prep career, earning all-conference honors each of her last three seasons. She also played basketball and softball and was a four-time all-conference basketball selection as well as an all-state honoree her senior campaign.
According to the Gators' head coach Marilyn McReavy, in a press release announcing Vance's signing with Florida, “Lyra is super aggressive and assertive and is one of the top recruits in the state of Florida.” The press release said that Vance sported a 20-inch vertical jump and stated that she was “highly recruited by LSU, Georgia and Texas.”
Her freshman season, Vance was named to the all-tournament team of the Ole Miss Invitational as the Gators finished the year at 14-14 overall. Vance led Florida in both kills (264) and service aces (55) that season, ranking second in the Southeastern Conference with a service-ace percentage of .534. She also ranked second on the team in digs with 271.
“We recruited Lyra mostly because she was a winner,” McReavy told Florida Alligator writer Joe Lynch in an Oct. 23, 1985 article. “She has such a dynamic personality and loves to compete. We really needed that for the first year. It was such a lucky thing that Lyra was playing in this state.”
She was the runner-up for the team's Most Valuable Player award, which the coaches tabulated basked on a point system based on the place that the student-athletes finished in the positive statistical categories, according to the team's 1985 media guide.
“Lyra is an exceptional player,” McReavy said. “For an incoming freshman, it's surprising that she is as good as she is. She's working very hard to train herself for the college level.”
Not only was Vance's play distinctive, but her appearance also was something that fans couldn't help but notice. According to a feature story by UF sports information intern Jamie Robertson entitled Lyra Vance – You Can't Miss Her, “If you don't notice her emotional playing style, if you overlook her intense facial expressions, and if you completely disregard what a dominant force she is on the court, you've at least got to notice her hair.
“With the back cut into a tail and the sides shaved into rows, Vance's hairstyle is as individual as her playing style.”
Vance was named to the Florida All-Star team the following summer that participated in the European-American Friendship Exchange, playing in a tour of Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.
In her sophomore season of 1985, Vance was placed in more of a supporting role than the previous year after a solid season of recruiting by McReavy added depth to the squad's front line. But that was okay with Vance, as long as she was able to help the team be successful.
“You always want to be out there,” Vance told the Alligator. “You always want to be playing and, yet, you know that you're not always going to be able to do that. I'm a total competitor and I love the challenge of playing. But, on the other hand, if six people out there are doing the job and playing well, then it's okay.”
McReavy, who had shifted Vance to more of a defensive specialist role her second season, noted the adjusted role, but praised Vance's back-row skills as a key to the team's success.
“It may be a little difficult for her because she's not starting and playing all the time, as she did last year,” McReavy said. “She could play for any back court in the nation.”
Vance credited the team's increased depth on the front line as the reason for the implementation of other standout hitters into the lineup.
“Last year, all we did was hit outside,” Vance told the Alligator. “To be more competitive with the tougher teams, we had to spread the hitting out, run more hitting plays to the middle. They couldn't just keep coming to me.”
Vance led the Gators that season in digs (234) and service aces (48), setting the UF single-season record for digs. She also was a member of the first-place team at the USVBA's Sub-Regional, qualifying for the National Open.
Heading into her junior season, Vance's energy and athleticism had convinced McReavy that she would be an important leader on the team in 1986.
“Lyra's certainly not a boring player,” McReavy said in the outlook section of the 1986 guide. “Her emotional commitment to the team never lets anyone forget why they are on the court. Lyra can literally turn games around.”
As a junior, Vance was a CVCA All-Region selection and was named to the All-Southeastern Conference team. She set school single-season records for aces (64), assists (926) and digs (443). She turned in a season-high 25 kills against South Carolina and a season-high 60 assists against Eastern Kentucky.
In the All-SEC nomination form for Vance that season, McReavy wrote “Lyra's stats are misleading as she has been shifted from a 5-1 to a 6-2 during the season. Even though she set a 5-1 for about four weeks during the season, she is second overall in total attempts for the team for the season and third in kills per game. Lyra is undoubtedly our best defensive player, leading the team in digs and holding that position by 76 digs. She leads the team in service aces and is the only player on the team to have played in every game this year. She is our most aggressive and competitive player.”
Vance was no longer playing in the shadows. The cover of the team's 1987 media guide best represented that, as the lone image on the cover was one of Vance digging a volleyball.
Vance would see another position change as she would go from primarily a setter/back-row player to a right-side hitter her senior season.
“I'm serious about what I'm doing,” Vance said in an Aug. 31, 1987 article in the Florida Alligator. “It's work. I don't expect to win every game, but I expect myself to play well. I've learned through these coaches that there's a lot you can't control in volleyball. Try your hardest, it's the only thing you can do.”
And Vance's best was pretty good. She became the first player in school history to win back-to-back All-Region honors (1986-87) and still ranks in the top 10 of many career statistical categories at Florida, including kills (1,284), attacks (3,376), assists (1,262), digs (1,444) and service aces (236). She still ranks as the school's all-time leader in service aces and digs.
For the player who at one time felt like she was playing out of the spotlight, Vance easily became the first great Florida volleyball player.
END OF REPORT
