Jerritt Elliott has been the head coach of the Texas women's volleyball team since 2001.
He led the Longhorns to 13 consecutive trips to the NCAA regional finals (2006-2018), eight NCAA semifinal appearances and four NCAA championship appearances (2009, 2012, 2015 and 2016.) The Longhorns won the 2012 national championship.
krikya18.com asked Elliott to create his ultimate Texas volleyball dream player, picking a player for 11 different categories.
"When I came up with this entire list, these were the players that finished their entire four years and put in a great deal of work and body of work to be able to evaluate," Elliott said. "We've had so many great players that have come through, but these are all players that finished their four years of eligibility for me, and I have a really good thought process on what they were able to bring to the floor."
Here are his picks for each category and what he had to say about each player:
The Quarterback
Chloe Collins — 2013-1016
"Chloe Collins was the one that kept popping up in my mind," he said. "I think she was a great leader, had a great rapport with her teammates. She was (an) extremely athletic, undersized setter. But she brought us to numerous final fours. Was a great floor general, was able to get the best out of her players, understood how to run an offense and was just so much fun to coach."
- Finished her career with 3,687 assists, the fourth-best mark in Texas volleyball history
- 2016 AVCA All-America Second Team
- Posted 46 assists and 11 digs vs. Stanford in the 2016 national championship match
The Terminator
Destinee Hooker — 2006-2009
"The one that really stands out is Destinee Hooker," Elliott said. "She was a high flyer, super dynamic. (She) really came into her own within our program because she came in with very little experience. But there are not many players that are as breathtaking to watch take off the floor and score from all corners of the court. She obviously is a spectacular athlete ... (and) is one of the best players in the world right now."
- 2008-09 Big 12 Conference Female Athlete of the Year
- Upon graduation, she ranked third all-time at Texas in kills (1,821) and points (2,180), fourth in block solos (132) and fifth in hitting percentage (.326)
- 2009 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year
- 2008 and 2009 Honda Award Finalist
- 2009 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player and NCAA Omaha Regional Most Outstanding Player
- 2009 and 2008 AVCA All-America First Team, 2007 AVCA All-America Second Team, 2006 AVCA Honorable Mention All-America
The Brick Wall
Chiaka Ogbogu — 2013-2017
"She was one that really developed and understood the timing behind the jump, how to close and where to put her hands in critical situations," Elliott said. "Big time blocker for us."
- Texas’ all-time blocks leader with 537
- Texas’ all-time block assist leader with 165
- Three-time First Team All-American (2014, 2015, 2017,) All-America Second Team in 2013
- 2017 Big 12 Player of the Year
Bailey Webster — 2009, 2011-2013
"She was long, she could get in front of somebody and she was the one that stopped the great opposite from Oregon when we won the national championship," Elliott said.
- 2013 Volleyball Magazine All-America First Team and AVCA Second Team All-America honors
- 2012 AVCA All-America First Team honors
- 2012 NCAA tournament most outstanding player
- 2012 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year
The Energizer
Khat Bell — 2011-2014
"High energy, everyone loved her, fan favorite."
- 2014 AVCA Second Team All-America
- Two-time AVCA All-America honorable mention
Juliann Faucette — 2007-2010
"In 2010 we were depleted and she just was so great at keeping our team going," Elliott said. "(She) made so many big-time touch plays for us to get to that final four when we were well understaffed as a team."
- 2010 Honda Award Finalist
- Two-time AVCA All-America First Team (2007, 2010)
- 2009 AVCA All-America Third Team
- 2007 AVCA National Freshman of the Year
- 2010 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
- 2010 NCAA Austin Regional Most Outstanding Player
- 2010 Big 12 Player of the Year
The Captain
Ashley Engle — 2006-2009
"(She was) able to make the players around them better, one that is able to speak the language of the coaches, one that had just a great feel of what is going on around them and able to make those players change and develop and be united," Elliott said. "She took a lot of responsibility in many different areas. Was a great floor general, but was also able to do the things we asked. She was a hitter then we asked her to set. She was also able to lead and get players to form in line to become the team we were that year."
- 2008 AVCA All-America First Team
- 2006 AVCA All-America Second Team
- 2006 Big 12 Freshman of the Year
The Pancake Getter
Cat McCoy — 2014-2017
"She loved to flop around and play those balls and she really embraced that skillset," Elliott said.
- Leads Texas in career digs per set with 4.06
- All-time Texas digs leader with 1,801
- 2017 AVCA All-America honorable mention
- Finished her senior season with 4.41 digs per set for the highest mark in a single season in Texas volleyball history
The Ace Machine
Haley Eckerman — 2011-2014
"She had a deadly jump-serve that was able to go in some huge point runs for us in the national championship in 2012," Elliott said. "I think it was 23-all in Game 2 and (she) got a big ace for us. She was clutch in that area."
- Two-time AVCA First-Team All-American (2012, 2013)
- 2013 Volleyball Magazine Player of the Year
- Finalist for the 2013 Honda Sports Award for Volleyball
- Three-time Big 12 Player of the Year
The Unsung Hero
Sha'Dare McNeal — 2009-2012
"This one was really easy for me to choose because she never got a lot of credit for us," Elliott said. "She was really the glue for our team. Never got all the credit, should've been an All-American. She was our floor general and kept everyone together. It really opened up our offense based on what she could do ... She was a big key to us winning the national championship."
- 2012 NCAA Volleyball All-Tournament Team
- In 2012, she made 30 starts in 32 matches as a member of the Longhorns national championship team, registering 219 kills while hitting .364 with 79 assists
The Dirty Worker
Heather Kisner — 2006-2009
"She was a kid that we got that just loved to flop around, run through chairs, dive into the crowd," Elliott. "Super aggressive and willing to sacrifice her body all the time."
- Recorded a Texas single-season record 488 digs in 2008
The Swiss Army Knife
Amy Neal — 2012-2015
"She was an undersized player that came in and didn't play a lot in the beginning and really worked into being a mentally tough and really good player," Elliott said. "She was undersized at 5'10, and she learned how to be able to have a tool kit or a Swiss Army knife to be able to score. She became Big 12 Player of the Year and led us to a final four. She was just so much fun to have because she would frustrate opponents with her variety of volleyball IQ and shot selection."
- 2015 Big 12 Player of the Year
- 2015 AVCA All-America First Team
- Named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2015
The Clutch Gene
Mirta Baselovic — 2014-2017
"One of the biggest moments that stands out in my career and a lot of our players career was when we played Florida in the regional finals and it was late in game five and we subbed Mirta Baselovic into the game," Elliott said. "We played against Rhamat (Alhassan) the great middle blocker from Florida and we had her commit block on her. She didn't play a lot for us but she was clutch when it counted."
