Norman, OK (U-WIRE) -- The OU volleyball team has had its share of ups and downs this season. The team started a promising 8-0, but lost its first eight matches in the Big 12 Conference.

It is often a wonder as to which volleyball team will show up and many factors may play into why these are frustrating times for the Sooners.

One of them is a team that is still very young.

Eight of the 14 players are underclassmen and of the six upperclassmen, just two are seniors. Not to mention the team is learning a new system under a new coach.

But coming into the final week of the season, the two seniors on this team are not stomping their feet over missed opportunities.

They haven?t given up on their teammates and have said they are still part of the rebuilding process at OU.

?Keri [Coats] and I have definitely been a part of rebuilding this program,? defensive specialist and libero Stephanie Tengram said. ?It?s a good thing to be able and look back and say you were part of the rebuilding process.?

Tengram came to OU from Pittsburgh State. She has led the team this season with 3.20 digs per game and has been the backbone of the defense for much of the year.

Tengram said playing for the Sooners has been an honor, regardless of record.

?I feel privileged to be able to play for the university and the Big 12 Conference because it is so competitive,? Tengram said. ?It will be sad knowing that I?m not going to be wearing the uniform anymore.?

She said playing for the Sooners has helped her build character. She said she has grown as a person especially in coping with a situation where the team isn?t always achieving great things.

Outside hitter Keri Coats transferred to OU from the College of Southern Idaho. This year she is second to none, averaging 2.70 kills per game and has a .274 hitting percentage.

Only freshman setter Julie Chester, who rarely attacks over five times a match, has a higher hitting percentage.

Coats said the feeling of being a senior set in at the beginning of the season.

?I?m really upset to be done because I?ve done this for so long,? Coats said. ?But it will be all right because I?ve done this for so long, it?s kind of like I?m ready for something new. It?s going to be a bittersweet ending.?

She said she thinks she has helped the younger players gain insight on how to continue to help the program move up.

?I feel like I want them to know I gave my all in there even though I wasn?t always playing the best,? Coats said. ?I enjoy being out there with all the girls; they?re like my family and I hope they realize that.?

Coats said she wishes she could?ve been part of the program all four years rather than transferring in at the start of her junior season. She said she was excited for the women who are still in the program and still have the opportunity to grow in the new system.

While both seniors came last season to help change the program, it took a coaching change before the reversal was started.

Even though statistics may not tell the story, the excitement by these two seniors for the future does.

Tengram said she hopes her teammates and coaches remember that she was an exciting player to watch and that she and Coats were part of the foundation for a team headed in a new direction.

?I helped to create what will happen next year and Keri and I were a positive impact on the team,? Tengram said.

The two seniors will play their final home game Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Lloyd Noble Center.

(C) 2004 Oklahoma Daily via U-WIRE