Torres emerges as team leader during Bobcats title run

TXST VOLLEYBALL

Senior setter Ryann Torres entered her final season at Texas State with one goal in mind— winning a conference title.

The goal was accomplished when Torres and the Bobcats ran through the conference tournament to secure both the title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It is the Bobcats second straight appearance in the conference tournament and the Bobcats first conference tournament title since 2020.

“There’s just absolutely zero word[s] to describe the feeling,” Torres said. “It means hard work really does pay off and that when you just keep grinding and just keep thinking about the main goal and why you come into practice every time, why you’re doing treatments, why are you doing ice baths; … it was all for that.”

But the journey for Torres has not been the easiest, especially when following one of the best setters in program history.

Torres both played and learned under setter Emily DeWalt, who not only leads Texas State with 6,131 career assists but also set the Sun Belt Conference record.

While Torres patiently waited her turn to lead the team, she also learned from DeWalt on what it takes to be a great setter.

“Being behind Emily obviously wasn’t easy,” Torres said. “She was good at her job. Always having an aggressive mindset is what she taught me. What I learned myself is … being the type of leader that I wanted to be. I wanted to be relatable. I wanted to be [a] ‘Hey, I have your back’ type of a leader.”

While Torres became a great setter for the Bob- cats, having surpassed 2,000 career assists, the senior from Buda found another challenge going into the 2023 season— discovering how to be a leader and, in turn, how to be herself.

“I learned to be myself,” Torres said. “That’s what my teammates needed and just not getting so wrapped up in this is what the coaches need for me to do. I need to do this and this. Having this focus off of me and bringing up my teammates along the way, I think that’s just very beneficial for this team specifically.”

Torres also described how this offseason changed her from the player she was last season.

“I feel that I’m an entirely different athlete from a year ago,” Torres said. “Working over the summer, constantly being in the weight room, being in the gym, getting reps, it really built up my confidence, and I was ready to go by fall camp.

“That hasn’t always been the story for me. It was a different type of mindset that I wanted to … [have] for myself and for the team as well that I wanted to give every ounce I had left in me to everyone around me.”

But as Torres came to find out, becoming a leader on the team did not come easy. Her primary focus was becoming more vocal to her teammates, which wasn’t always the case last season.

“It was foreign to me last year, and this year, I came in here a little bit more vocal,” Torres said. “I was a completely different athlete since … a year ago; I was a little bit quiet. I wouldn’t say stuff as much. I would always go by there’s a time and a place for when I need to say things. That wasn’t my story this season. People respected that, and I saw the respect from that being, I guess, bad cop sometimes.”

By embracing her new leadership position, Torres knew that the goal was to bring home the conference title, which the Bobcats had not won since the 2020 season.

“Being in that role, I don’t mind it,” Torres said. “I am an outspoken person as is, so that wasn’t foreign to me this season.

It was sometimes hard. I was asked by the coaches that I needed to do this and that. Sometimes it wasn’t comfortable, but I knew it was beneficial for my team, what we needed to do [and] what we were working towards. I was fine with it because we were working towards the ring. That was my goal.”

The Bobcats path to a conference title wasn’t easy.

During the regular season, Texas State suffered a 3-1 loss to Arkansas State after sweeping the Red Wolves the previous game.

The loss turned into a pivotal moment for the Bobcats, which spurred into a now 11-game winning streak.

“As a whole we learned from the game that consistency is key, and we were not that consistent all the way around in that game,” Torres said. “[We have been] working consistently in practice and reaching or hitting the goals that we have in drills. Those are all factors in why we were so successful since that game. The seriousness got picked up a little bit after that, and we knew what we were working towards. We just had to keep our nose down and just kept grinding.”

Entering the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed from the West Division, Texas State went on a historic run that had not been seen in over a decade.

During the three games of the conference tournament, Texas State did not drop a set, going a perfect 9-0 en route to beating James Madison three times in a row. Texas State also beat the No. 1 seed from the East Division in App State, exacting revenge by sweeping Arkansas State in the title game.

But for Torres, the result of the Bobcats performance is not in the least shocking.

“Shock is not the word for it,” Torres said. “It’s more like … everyone was on the same mindset, same energy, same aggression, and I’ve never felt that before on a volleyball team; so experiencing that for the first time, it’s just beyond me.”

Torres was later named the Sun Belt Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

While Torres has never been focused on personal stats and accolades, the senior was still happy about winning the award.

“It’s great,” Torres said. “But at the same time, I’ve never been focused on accolades and stats. Yet hearing that as being a Texas State volleyball player, it did feel really good.”

After the game, Torres personally thanked the Texas State coaches for pushing her to become the player she has evolved into.

“I texted my coach as soon as we got on the bus right after this championship,” Torres said. “I immediately texted that I remember at my exit meeting in spring that you challenged me to do whatever it takes to win a Sunbelt championship— to do more than I have ever had in a summer. I would never thank you enough for giving me those motivational words.”

Torres and the Bobcats will find out their path in the NCAA Tournament today at 5 p.m. during the NCAA Tournament selection show.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc