Vandals Must Play For Respect Big Sky Champs Rated Just 4th In Their First Season In Big West

The University of Idaho volleyball team is staring at the number four.

Not the four that represents its four straight Big Sky Conference championships, but the four that depicts its predicted finish in the Big West Conference.

In the preseason poll, Big West coaches see the Vandals finishing fourth.

“We’ve got to be prepared for the change,” said Idaho coach Tom Hilbert. “You don’t have to go into this league and win 24 games to show if you are good.”

The conference switch, which took the Vandals out of the Big Sky along with Boise State and landed them in the Big West, will have an effect on Eastern Washington, too. The Eagles, coming off an 8-20 record and eighth in the Big Sky (3-11), are void of the Vandals and Broncos on their conference schedule, but they pick up well-respected Sacramento State as well as former Division II powerhouses Cal State Northridge and Portland State.

Meanwhile, all is status quo for Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference, where the Bulldogs are looking to rebound from a 6-25 season.

Whitworth’s Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges adds the University of Puget Sound, runner-up in the 1995 NAIA tournament. The Pirates are coming off a forgettable 5-23 year.

Idaho would like to make its first year in the Big West an unforgettable experience.

The Vandals were 28-5 overall, 13-1 in the Big Sky last year, but were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss at Iowa State.

This summer, Idaho has been trying a lot of combinations, but remains rock solid in its setter position behind Lynne Hyland. The senior from Vancouver, British Columbia, is “one of the main reasons we’ll be competitive this year,” Hilbert said.

Idaho’s biggest conference challenge is expected to be Long Beach State, picked to finish first and ranked No. 12 in the USA Today/ American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll. The Vandals play the 49ers on Nov. 7 at home.

Pacific, ranked 14th, and UC Santa Barbara, ranked 17th, also will be key tests. UI plays at Pacific on Oct. 3 and at Santa Barbara on Oct. 25.

“These (Big West) teams have never played us before. We’ve never played them before. There’s no mental advantage anymore,” Hyland said.

Perhaps the same will hold for Eastern when it plays host to Cal State Northridge on Sept. 21 and travels to Sacramento State on Sept. 26.

“We’re definitely better,” Eagles coach Pamela Parks said. “We’re more athletic than last year.

“The key to our success will be in the preseason. If this team does well in the preseason, we could get on a roll.”

Eastern opens Monday at home against Tulsa. On Sept. 7-8, the Eagles will play at the Arizona Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. The Vandals and Eagles square off Sept. 14 at UI’s tournament.

Gonzaga will have its shot at Eastern in Spokane on Oct. 1 and at Cheney on Oct. 22. GU’s first weekend of play will be today and Saturday at the Cougar Classic in Pullman. The Bulldogs play host and No. 8 ranked Washington State at 7 tonight.

“We’re young, but we’re an experienced young,” said Gonzaga coach Sean Madden, whose team finished fifth in the WCC last season.

Much of the experience comes in the package of twin hitters Christy (in the middle) and Jennifer (on the outside) Kubista. The Tacoma two-some are both three-year starters.

Whitworth’s team will be anchored by senior middle blocker Renee Williams.

Last season, she was the Pirates’ most consistent front-line player and led the team with a .172 hitting percentage and in total blocks.

Coach Hiram Naipo said one of his biggest predicaments is selecting a setter from among four promising freshmen.

The Pirates open their season at home today in the Whitworth Invitational.

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