Oct. 28, 2002
By Chris Kerpan
University of Illinois at Chicago junior outside hitter Teaha Shepperd (Kalamazoo, Mich./Galesburg-Augusta) has always been at the top of the list when it comes to personal achievements in volleyball.
Shepperd, however, believes individual goals will have to take a back seat when going after a conference championship this season.
The Flames have shown a team attitude this year, sporting a record of 16-11, already surpassing last season's total of 15 victories with six matches remaining in the regular season.
The Kalamazoo, Mich., native believes the reasons for success is due to a stellar group of freshmen and a higher level of intensity at practice.
"The freshmen are really good this year and the competition is much better at practice," said Shepperd.
When you get down to analysis, the fact of the matter is that Shepperd keys UIC's effort attacking the net and giving the Flames much needed power up front.
Shepperd is putting up impressive numbers this season for the Flames, currently leading the team in kills (344), as well as kills per game (3.43).
The only way Shepperd knows how to play is by giving it her all and leaving it out on the court. Her aggressive nature both physically and emotionally is what propels this team when it needs a boost.
"I like to think of myself as a leader on this team," Shepperd said. "I am always talking and screaming, trying to get the team fired up.
"If I did not talk out on the court, it would mess me up."
Last season, Shepperd was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team last year while finishing seventh in the league in kills per game (3.33).
In her freshman season Shepperd finished fifth in kills per game (3.28), and was named the MVP of the 2000 UIC Wilson Volleyball Invitational.
Despite wrapping up awards and finishing atop the individual statistics in numerous categories in her first two seasons, she maintains her focus on team goals and not on herself.
"I never pay attention to stats," Shepperd said. "It's all about the team."
After a beginning the season a red hot 15-7, the team has stumbled a bit lately with a three-match losing streak in conference play.
Shepperd maintains that it is hard to ignore the fact that the Flames have been nursing injuries at key positions, most notably a shoulder injury to middle hitter Gina Caneva. Shepperd feels that once the team gets healthy, they will be even better than they were at the start of the season.
"It's all about making adjustments," Shepperd said. "This team has had to make adjustments all season.
"We will be fine."
Shepperd feels that this team can go farther than any team she has been apart of here at UIC and feels that the only ones standing in their way are themselves.
"We should be able to win conference," said Shepperd. "I think our biggest competition will be how we handle things mentally.
"We play everybody twice, so we can still win conference as long as we play together."
