Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts
    • Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects
    • Baylor graduate charged after killing cats with pellet gun, hanging bodies over utility lines
    • Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18
    • Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings
    • About us
      • Spring 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Sunday, July 13
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming Page
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»Sports»Volleyball

    Defensive rock, soccer senior Salinas set to graduate

    By November 4, 2011 Volleyball No Comments4 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
    Austin senior defender Staz Salinas walks across Betty Lou Mays field with her family Oct. 16 as part of the soccer Senior Day. The Bears celebrated a 5-0 win that day against Jackson State. Salinas is scheduled to graduate in May and is planning to enlist in the Air Force.
    Matthew McCarroll | Lariat Photographer

    By Daniel Wallace
    Sports Writer

    Next year’s Baylor soccer team will face many tough challenges due to the departure of seven seniors set to graduate in either the spring or winter of 2012. One of the biggest obstacles the team will face is replacing the anchor of what has proven to be a solid defense in the Big 12.

    Senior defender Staz Salinas has been the chief of the Baylor defense for the past season and is scheduled to graduate in May.

    Head coach Marci Jobson described her as the “general” of the defense and said she has admired her toughness and hard-nosed mentality in the way she plays the game. Jobson said that because of her leadership and maturity in her position, others follow her.

    “Staz is a kid that a lot of people just respect because of the way she walks the walk and the way she plays,” Jobson said.

    She plays physically and aggressively. Salinas said she credits that style of play to growing up with her two brothers — one older, one younger. Through middle school, Salinas ran track and played volleyball and soccer.

    When high school began, she had to choose which sport to play — she chose the most physical of the three. Soccer was the obvious choice for the well-rounded athlete.

    Salinas was recruited by former head coach George Van Linder and verbally committed to Baylor in the fall of 2007. The Austin native has experienced lifestyle changes since coming to Baylor and said she has become much “deeper.”

    Salinas said one of her favorite moments at Baylor was during her sophomore year when she was baptized and her teammates were there to celebrate her profession of faith. Salinas described her spiritual journey as one of ups and downs but credited her teammates as her main support system. She said she has experienced friendships with her teammates that go beyond soccer.

    “It’s just a bond no one will ever be able to take away,” she said. “All of us are mostly built on God and we know that at the end of the day, we are all going to be there for each other and have each other’s back. Then we will be there for support whenever we are having problems outside, like with God or anything like that. We have that foundation that we are all built upon.”

    The defensive leader has learned not to take the game she loves for granted and plays soccer for more than the thrill of it.

    “I’ve learned just every time I get out there, it’s a privilege and another opportunity to show him [God] off and give him the glory at the end of the day and play for an audience of one,” she said.

    Fellow senior defender Hannah Dismuke said sometimes Salinas can have a tough shell around her, but that she is actually soft on the inside. She said Salinas does not always necessarily lead with words, but always leads by example. Dismuke also said Salinas brings consistency in every situation, no matter where she is.

    “On the field and off the field, she is the same person,” Dismuke said. “You are always going to get the truth, you are always going to get someone who cares one hundred percent.”

    Not only will the Bears miss Salinas’ extraordinary ability in the air on headers and defensive skills, but they will miss a leader who plays with passion and toughness, because of who she is playing for.

    Salinas plans to enlist in the Air Force after graduating in May.

    Featured George Van Linder Hannah Dismuke Marci Jobson Staz Salinas United States Air Force

    Keep Reading

    SLIDESHOW: Waco Immigration Rally

    Sczech brings the boom, records career marks during volleyball’s postseason run

    No. 4 Baylor volleyball knocked out of NCAA Tournament by No. 5 Dayton in five sets

    No. 4 Baylor volleyball dominates Wofford 3-0 in first round

    No. 4 seed Baylor volleyball readies for Wofford in NCAA Tournament

    4 Bears selected to All-Big 12 teams ahead of NCAA tournament

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts July 9, 2025
    • Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash July 9, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.