After suffering through five losing seasons in seven years of Lady Buff volleyball from 1980-1986, head coach Kim Hudson turned the program around in 1987 with a 25-7 record, but she knew they could do better. In 1988, after sitting out a year of volleyball action, setter Eve (Posey) Gerber, whom Hudson had coached at Amarillo High School, came to WT and immediately had an impact on the program upon her arrival.
The Lady Buffs reached the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time ever in 1988. WT won its first Lone Star Conference championship, going undefeated during the conference slate, finishing the season at 33-8 and losing in the regional semifinals to Regis. Gerber was named second-team All-LSC after ranking second on the team with 609 assists. She also recorded 210 digs and 72 kills.
In Gerber's senior season of 1989, the Lady Buffs went 31-9, sharing the LSC championship with Angelo State, and made it to their first ever Elite Eight appearance - losing in the quarterfinals to host Cal State-Bakersfield. She was named first-team All-LSC, AVCA All-South Central Regional Team, South Central Regional Tournament MVP, and AVCA second-team All-American. Gerber led the LSC with 1,616 assists, then a conference and WT single-season record.
Following her stellar career at Amarillo High, Gerber played volleyball at San Jacinto Junior College, earning all-conference honors in 1985 and first-team All-American honors in 1986. She was named the first-ever Volleyball Player of the Year in 1986 by the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame, and then three years later she shared the honor with her WT teammates, Jill and Julie Myatt (both members of the WT Hall of Champions).Â
