Community service puts volleyball team over the top for TVCC Cardinal Cup

2013 Cardinal Cup winners
2013 Cardinal Cup winners

By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information

The volleyball team at Trinity Valley Community College had a memorable 2012-13 semester in more ways than one.

In the fall, Coach Tosha Spain’s squad made school history by qualifying for the regional tournament for the first time in the three-year history of the program.

Cardinal Cup LogoTuesday night at the third annual TVCC Sports Banquet, the Lady Cardinals were awarded the Cardinal Cup — the prize for a fall/spring semester-long competition in which the college’s athletic department teams/groups are awarded points for supporting each other and for community service.

The Lady Cardinals edged out the football team by the closest margin in the three-year history of the competition, scoring 606 points for a 34-point winning margin. The football team had 572 points and the softball team was a distant third with 261.

Community service played a big role in the Lady Cardinals’ raising the Cardinal Cup at the banquet. They logged 700 hours of giving back to the community.

“I am proud of the girls for winning (the Cardinal Cup),” Spain said. “They have been doing community service every week since September and have constantly been at other sports’ games supporting their fellow student-athletes.

“The girls love helping the community and attending all the other events on campus.”

As busy as they stayed, Spain said she was especially proud the Lady Cardinals were able to maintain a 3.25 GPA.

“They are an amazing group of girls on and off the court and continue to make me a better person and coach every day.”

The Cardinal Cup, which began in the 2010 fall semester, is designed as a competition to help encourage student-athletes and other organizations at the college to become more involved and the events that take place on campus, not just athletic events. The program was implemented to create a supportive and active fan base of TVCC students to visibly and vocally support performing groups.

In addition to the volleyball, football and softball teams, groups participating in the competition this year were the men’s and women’s basketball teams, cheerleaders and athletic training staff.

The cheerleaders won the inaugural Cardinal Cup in 2011 and the athletic training staff finished first last year.

Here are the final Cardinal Cup standings for 2013:

  • Volleyball – 606 points
  • Football – 572 points
  • Softball – 261 points
  • Women’s Basketball – 150 points
  • Cheerleaders– 90 points
  • Men’s Basketball – 54 points
  • Trainers – 26 points

The Cardinal Cup trophy is on permanent display in the lobby at Cardinal Gym with the name of the winning group engraved each year.