Diane Seymour Position: Head Coach Experience: 6th year Alma Mater: UT Arlington, 1989

Diane Seymour enters her sixth year as head volleyball coach at UT Arlington in 2009-10. Seymour is no stranger to the Mavericks program after coming to UT Arlington in 1984 as a student-athlete and later spending eight years (1996-2003) as the assistant coach. Overall, Seymour has spent 18 seasons with the Maverick volleyball program, helping lead them to 375 victories, seven Southland Conference championships, six NCAA Tournament appearances and to a No. 7 national ranking at the end of the 1988 season.

Seymour has built an impressive resume in five seasons at the helm of the Mavericks program recording an 81-72 overall mark (.529), which includes two second-place finishes and one third-place finish in the Southland Conference regular season. Since 2004, she has mentored 12 All-Southland Conference picks, including three during the 2007 season and Amanda Aguilera, who was a first team selection in 2008.

Averaging 16 wins per seasons as head coach, Seymour has directed UT Arlington towards three double-figure win totals in Southland Conference play. Her squads have totaled a 46-40 conference record in five seasons.

Seymour returned to her alma mater in 1996 as an assistant coach on Janine Smith's staff. In her eight years as an assistant, the team captured two regular season championships and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament while never finishing lower than fourth in the conference.

Just three weeks prior to the start of two-a-days in 2004, Seymour was named the interim head coach. With a young squad featuring six freshman and just two seniors, the Diane Seymour era began with a thrilling five-set victory over Baylor. The Mavericks trailed 13-9 in the deciding set but climbed back to defeat the Bears for the first time since 1990 (23-30, 31-29, 23-30, 30-28, 17-15).

The season-opening victory was only the beginning as the Mavericks rattled off 13 victories during their first 15 matches. The 2004 squad ended the season with an overall record of 24-7 and a 15-5 mark in conference play, finishing in third place. The 15 conference victories marked just the fourth time a UT Arlington team has won at least 15 conference matches. On the way, the team won tournament titles at the Western New York Invite and the UTA Invitational.

Individual success also followed the team as four players went on to earn all-conference accolades. Junior outside hitter Ashley Van Antwerp became the first All-Southland Conference first team selection since 2002, while seniors Heather Dunn and Caley Smith earned second team honors. Freshman Morgan Rogers was an honorable mention pick.

After the successful year in an interim role, director of athletics Pete Carlon named Seymour the sixth head coach in UT Arlington history on Nov. 22, 2004.

In 2005, numerous injuries and tough breaks contributed to a 6-21 record. Van Antwerp continued her solid play as she earned third team all-conference honors. Seymour returned the Mavericks to the top of the SLC in 2006, guiding the team to a 25-10 record, including a second-place conference finish with a 12-4 mark. The team carried on the tireless work ethic of their head coach as they went 7-1 in five-set matches, including coming back from 0-2 set deficits to TCU and Sam Houston State.

The past four seasons combined UT Arlington is 14-5 in five-set matches. After finishing second in the regular season in 2006, the Mavs advanced to their 15th SLC Tournament championship match in 25 years.

Defense has always been the forté of Seymour and 2006 was no different as the Mavs set a new SLC record with 2,887 digs. The digs total is also the second-highest mark in the NCAA since the 2001 season. Individually, libero Ashley Smith re-wrote the UT Arlington and SLC record books with 863 digs, the second highest single-season digs total in NCAA history.

A loaded non-conference portion of the Mavs schedule in 2007 led to continued success in the Southland Conference. Seymour's team posted a pair of five-match winning streaks and had a period where they collected victories in eight of nine matches during a 30 day span (Sept. 15-Oct. 13). UT Arlington finished the season winning six of eight conference matches, tallied the fourth-highest winning percentage among the 12-team Southland, and led the league averaging 18.88 digs per set - ranking 32nd in the nation.

Seymour's senior-led squad was highlighted by two-time first team All-Conference right-side hitter Torie Dacus. The six-foot senior from Ovilla, Texas, led UT Arlington with 299 kills, 15 double-doubles and with a .988 serving percentage (just six errors - 500 serving attempts). Dacus also tallied 400 digs and 80 total blocks. Other seniors on the SLC all-league list included two-time second team setter Emily Nedderman and Ellen Murray, who was a first team pick.

The 2008 Mavericks featured 11 underclassmen, including eight freshmen. The Mavericks finished 7-23, despite beginning the season with two wins at the Mean Green Classic in Denton, and picking up a win at the San Francisco tournament. UT Arlington earned conference victories over SLC Eastern Division champion Central Arkansas and McNeese State, who finished third in the Eastern Division.

UT Arlington's youth showed promise ranking second in the conference in blocks per set (2.07) and finishing fourth in the league in digs per set during league play (15.49). Setter Raegan Daniel was tied for fifth in the conference with 11 double-doubles during the season and outside hitter Amanda Aguilera led all conference players with 10 double-doubles during conference competition.

Aguilera also led the conference averaging 3.68 kills per set in SLC play, while middle blocker Christy Driscoll tied for the league lead in blocks per set (1.11) in conference play. In addition, Aguilera was named first team all-conference, becoming the sixth UT Arlington freshman to receive first team honors, and was the first Maverick freshman since 1990 to be tabbed first team all-league.

As a student-athlete, Seymour came to UT Arlington in 1984, but missed all of the season after undergoing knee surgery. She worked her way into the lineup in 1985 and contributed 18 kills, 24 digs, and 12 service aces in 24 matches as the team went on to go 28-4 to make the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The team was not satisfied with just making the tournament in 1986 as they went 29-10, capturing its second straight conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals. UT Arlington hosted Texas State in an opening-round match and defeated the Bobcats in four sets before falling in three sets to LSU. Seymour would collect 44 service aces on the season, including a school-record eight against Oklahoma on Oct. 15, 1986.

Coming off her second knee surgery, Seymour collected 21 service aces and 110 digs in helping her team to a 32-7 record and their third-straight conference title in 1987. The 32 victories are the most by any UT Arlington squad since NCAA play began in 1982. The team would knock off Arizona State in an opening round match before falling to Kentucky in the regional semifinals. Seymour captained the 1988 squad to 30-4 record and a No. 7 ranking in the final AVCA poll. The team earned tournament wins over Pepperdine and Kentucky before being eliminated by eventual national champion Texas. Seymour finished her playing career with 48 kills, 95 service aces and 433 digs in 119 matches and 313 sets. Including her redshirt season, the Mavs went 140-41 during her playing tenure.

Seymour came to Arlington after earning all-state honors at Arlington High School in 1983. She began her career at Arlington Bowie High School, playing for her college coach Lisa Love. Seymour earned a bachelor's degree from UT Arlington in 1989. After her playing career ended, Seymour worked closely with several of the top club teams in Texas and is currently the director of the North Dallas Junior Volleyball Association.