FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After a historic season last year for the Razorback Volleyball team in which they earned their first Elite Eight appearance, a few key pieces from that team are now gone. However, setter Hannah Hogue believes she can emerge as a leader and hopes to lead them back to the big stage.
"Playing in those big matches, like it's the biggest match we've ever played in as a program, so having people come back that have played in that, I think it'll really help our experience this year," Hogue said.
While being a setter isn’t always the most glorious job, she’s just happy to do her part.
"I'm doing my job really well," she said. "When they get a lot of the glory, I'm fine with that. That's great because their job's really hard. You know, if I can do my job well, that means I'm making it easier for them to score, and that makes our team better."
Hogue said while growing up in Fort Smith, being a Razorback meant everything.
"A kid from Arkansas always dreams of being a Razorback, that's just what you want to do," she said. "It's a lot easier said than done. A lot of pieces have to come together for that to happen. And luckily for me, I was blessed enough all the pieces came together. So I've really just been living in this dream and trying to slow it down as much as possible. Because season comes and things pick up, and everything can get pretty stressful."
While she’s in Fayetteville now, she’ll always have love for her city and her high school, Southside.
"A lot of pride with that," she said. "I have family that grew up going to Southside and just Fort Smith in general. I love that city and that town. It's just strong people, and my family's there. It means a lot to me. I can go back home an hour away, so I just carry a lot of pride being a Maverick."
Coach Jason Watson knew from the moment he saw her that she needed to be a Razorback — no matter what position she played.
"When we recruited her to Arkansas, we didn't know what position that she would end up playing," Watson said. "We just knew we needed people like Hannah Hogue on our team, and we're so very, very thankful that she said yes."
Watson believes her love for Arkansas is what helps the rest of the team understand just how important it is to be a Hog.
"She's able to communicate to people who aren't as familiar with that in a way that helps them understand just how special this is to her and to those that are graduates of the University of Arkansas," Watson said.
With this being Hannah's last year in a Hog uniform, she’s going to soak in every moment during her senior season.
"A big focus this season is just coming in every day and really enjoying it," Hogue said. "Now, the last keeps coming up. You know, your last this, your last that. So I'm really just enjoying it ... every day, every game, going out there and giving absolutely everything I have, which is always the goal," Hogue said.
She said the four years she spent in a Razorback uniform will mean everything to her for the rest of her life.
"A lot of pride in being a Razorback," Hogue said. "Not everyone gets to wear a Razorback on their chest and say that they got to do all these things. I think I'm just going to be able to tell those stories to my kids and my grandkids and tell them what joy I had playing college volleyball, which not everyone can say that they absolutely enjoyed every moment."
Hogue and the rest of the Arkansas Razorback Volleyball team will get their season started on Friday, Aug. 30, in California where they will take on St. Mary's in the Mustang Invitational.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.