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"I would be crushed if we didn't win," she said. "Saying the season would be a disappointment without the title is an understatement. We've got to go out with a ring."
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FAYETTEVILLE - Cailee Huffman will never forget Nov. 10, 2008.
A mere mention of it causes a brief pause, a bit of angst and a deep sigh.
That day, Huffman and the Fayetteville State volleyball team fell to Elizabeth City State in the CIAA tournament's championship match.
"It was a tough game," Huffman said. "I was completely crushed."
Since walking off the court at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va., Huffman and her teammates have made it their mission to win the 2009 Championship.
They'll get their chance starting on Thursday, when the Broncos (15-8, 12-2 CIAA) start play in the 2009 CIAA Championship Tournament.
FSU will be the No. 2 seed from the Western Division and will play three matches on Thursday.
At 9 a.m., the Broncos will face Bowie State, followed by Livingstone at 1 p.m. and Eastern Division champion ECSU at 7 p.m.
If the Broncos are first or second in their pool, they will be in the semifinals on Saturday with the Championship match being held Sunday at 1 p.m.
"We lost in five games by just a few points last year," said Huffman. "This year, though, we're ready to go. We've been waiting for this."
Huffman, a senior libero, called the loss the most impactful moment of her career.
"It made me hungrier than ever to get it this year," she said. "It made me want to work twice as hard and put a bigger goal in my head. It made me want to, as a leader, push my teammates harder. It left such a dent in my life."
The Broncos' regular season didn't begin the way Huffman envisioned.
FSU started 0-5 with losses to Catawba, Pfeiffer, Coker, Limestone and The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
"Honestly, this season was very scary," said Chekimbrell Jefferson. "During the summer we didn't know who our coach was going to be. We didn't know who was going to come and who our teammates were going to be."
Enter former FSU standout Resheemah Johnson, who took over the program in August.
"She's a good coach," said Jefferson. "She really does have our best interests at heart. That's one thing that I really admire about her. I'm very happy with the end results"
Johnson's unit's only dropped two CIAA games this season, one each to Eastern Division champion ECSU and Western Division champion Chowan. ECSU and CU have a combined 27-2 record in CIAA play.
Johnson said those losses could yield positive results.
"I think that they provide us with an opportunity," she said. "We have a chance to step back and evaluate ourselves as we move into the tournament."
Several Broncos finished at or near the top of many statistical categories in conference play.
Jefferson, the two-time reigning CIAA Player of the Year, was second in the conference in kills per game. Junior setter Achair Mainor ranked third in the CIAA, gaining 7.37 assists per set while Huffman was third in the conference amassing 3.23 digs per set.
"Throughout the regular season we showed some improvement," said Johnson. We recovered from a number of injuries and we had to learn to work together as a team. I'd have to consider the regular-season a success."
Huffman, however, said she can't consider anything a success if the Broncos fail to win the CIAA Championship.
"I would be crushed if we didn't win," she said. "Saying the season would be a disappointment without the title is an understatement. We've got to go out with a ring."
