Tisha Schwartz does not talk very much. Her sheepish demeanor screams out like a whisper in a thunderstorm. She rarely is the ringleader, and noise-making is not one of her hobbies.

Then she steps on the court.

"This season, my goal is to be more dominating," the six-foot, three-inch middle blocker said. "I want to be more of a force, more of a threat blocking and hitting."

In the first weekend of the 2001 season, Schwartz made plenty of noise. En route to all-tournament honors at the NOKIA Sugar Bowl Classic, she averaged 2.60 kills and 0.80 blocks per game in the Bears first three matches while hitting at a .302 clip. Schwartz put away 10 kills and three blocks against host Tulane, and she dominated Louisiana State with 10 kills, three blocks and a .444 attacking percentage.

"She played steady this weekend," Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld said. "She's attacking the ball higher, harder and more often. Tisha is getting better just about everyday. Eventually she's going to get to that point where everything just clicks and seems simple."

Schwartz started getting better during the second half of last season. After adjusting to the speed of the collegiate game during the first month of her freshman season, Schwartz turned it up over the final 14 matches. In that time, she posted five matches with at least 10 kills, including a career high of 13 twice. She averaged 2.38 kills per game and attacked at a .335 percentage.

In the final match of the 2000 season, Schwartz gave Baylor fans a taste of things to come. Against then-No. 11 UCLA, she pounded 10 kills without an error in 14 attempts (.714), providing nearly all the offense for the Bears.

She finished the season with a .330 attacking percentage, which ranked first among regular starters for Baylor and 11th in the Big 12 Conference. Schwartz also led the team with 0.93 blocks per game, finishing second with 69 total blocks.

"By the end of last season, I felt so much more relaxed and comfortable with the speed of the game," Schwartz said. "At first, I didn't feel I could keep up. But as the season went along, playing at that speed started to become more natural to me."

According to Schwartz, nothing helped her learn to be more comfortable on the court than just being on the court.

"That's so important," she said. "Until you're out there, playing at that speed, you don't know what to expect."

The momentum Schwartz built during the second half of the 2000 campaign carried over to the spring development season. That momentum carried over to Baylor's preseason trip to Japan, during which time Schwartz said her game improved more than ever.

"Things really started clicking for me during the spring," she said. "I did my best to keep that going over the summer. Then, the Japan trip really taught me a lot. Being able to play and train in that type of environment was unbelievable. I feel as if I'm playing at the fastest pace I've ever played."

Schwartz said she still has a lot of work to do in order to become the player she wants to be.

"But I'm getting there," she said. "Japan had so much to do with that. Everything there is just boom, boom, boom. Playing at that speed helped a lot, I really feel like I'm getting faster every day."

So, how does someone who off the court is quiet and reserved become a "dominator" on the court? Schwartz said overcoming her personality is indeed a difficult task.

"It's hard sometimes," she said. "I think I've gotten to the point where I feel more comfortable stepping up and being vocal on the court. But a lot of times it's hard for me not to be quiet, just because that's who I am."

One thing Schwartz credits with her metamorphosis into a more mature, more aggressive player is the upperclassmen. As a freshman, she had six juniors and a pair of seniors from whom she could get advice. Even this season, she is still under the wings of five seniors.

"To come into that environment was so helpful," Schwartz said. "They have all been there for me. That makes it easier to step up into a more aggressive role, knowing that all the pressure is not on you.

"Last year, I think I was always looking for someone else to do that. This year, I'm more ready to do that myself."

Hosfeld said Schwartz' willingness to step up and her added confidence should come as no surprise.

"She should be ready," he said. "Tisha is a good player. She played all last year and got a lot of really good experience. She figured things out and really came along late in the year. Then, she did a great job in Japan. All that should make her more confident."

Schwartz came to Baylor from Amarillo (Texas) High School, where she was a three-time first-team all-district selection. During her junior season, Amarillo claimed the 5A state championship. She was a three-time Junior Olympic qualifier and was named to Volleyball Magazine's Fab 50 list as a senior.

Needless to say, Schwartz came to Baylor poised to develop into a great collegiate player. And the improvements she made as a freshman should go a long way toward getting her to that level.

"There was not any one area in which she improved the most last season," Hosfeld said. "It was just a refinement of her game. She's still relatively new to the game. But if she continues to improve at the same pace, she's going to have a very good career and help this program get where it wants to go."

And where the program wants to go is to the NCAA Tournament. Baylor got a taste for postseason play in 1999, and last season's absence from the tournament has made the Bears thirsty for another trip.

"Our main goal is just to get to the tournament," Schwartz said. "We really don't care how we get there. We just want to get there, and we'll see what happens from there."