MICHAEL STRICKLER/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior libero Kelli Mulvaney continues to be a constant force for the UA volleyball team, reaching the 1,000 dig mark earlier this season.

Senior libero sets sights on national title, not statbook in final season

Senior libero Kelli Mulvany knows how to lay low.

On the court, she hovers over the floor and is careful not to let a ball drop. Off the court, she has much of the same attitude, not taking too much credit for her contributions or drawing too much attention to herself.

But then again, she doesn't need to. Her play speaks volumes itself.

Mulvany has recorded double-digit digs 12 times this season and averages 3.05 digs per game. She has also led the team in digs 12 times – including in eight of nine Pacific 10 Conference matches.

But Mulvany - who eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark on Oct. 9 against Oregon - isn't one to pay much attention to these numbers.

"In the future when I'm done, I think it will be awesome to look back and possibly see my name in something," she said. "Right now, honestly, the only thing I want in the books is that Arizona won a national championship. Later down the road, I think it will be awesome, but I'm not really worried about that right now.

"I'm a senior, (so) it's my last chance to win a national championship - which is our goal," she added. "So every single match, I'm out trying to win no matter what."

In 2003, she put up similar statistics, competing in all 32 matches, recording a career and team-high 347 digs and averaged 3.04 digs per game.

Mulvany, who is among three seniors on this year's Arizona team, tries to stay out of the spotlight off the court as well and is cautious not to single herself out as one of the squad's leaders.

"I feel like our team has a lot of leaders in different ways," said Mulvany, who ranks sixth all-time in digs at Arizona with 1,053. "I definitely try to lead by experience and work ethic. If I go hard every single play, then I feel like others will also try and go that much harder. Our team has so many great leaders like that."

Despite her humility, Mulvany's teammates and coaches are fully aware of her contributions.

"Kelli is a great person to play with," said sophomore opposite hitter Meghan Cumpston. "She's always enthusiastic, always emphatic, always trying her best at all times. She just gets our whole team pumped up. To me, she's one of the best leaders on the team in that aspect. She's great at everything she does."

"No one in my mind deserves the praise and the accolades more than Kelli Mulvany," agreed UA head coach Dave Rubio. "I think she's been the glue to our team this year; (a team needs) someone who works as hard as she does every day, never complains and has a tremendous positive attitude.

"She passes great and plays great defense," he continued. "Without her presence on the floor, it would be a different Arizona team out there. She really is a catalyst for us out there. She's going to be a tough one to replace next year. Right now, we don't have anyone that I can see that's going to be able to do that."

The senior from Orange, Calif., said she plans to play volleyball overseas next semester and then return to UA to finish her degree in psychology in the fall.

"When I come back in the fall, I'll be able to watch football games and watch a lot of friends and watch the volleyball season again," Mulvany said. "I want to get a job. My whole life I've trained 24/7 so I want to be able to have a normal job and be able to hang out and do what I want.

"I think being a sports psychologist would be awesome," she said of her future plans. "I really want to be around sports. I know I'm going to be a coach eventually because I love coaching and I love the game. I like helping making an impression on younger kids."

But it seems that both the team's and Mulvany's futures will be in flux in the coming year.

"Honestly, I have no direction," she joked. "I'll probably go to one of those little two-year schools, once I figure out what I'm going to do - go be a bartender for a little while."