Cougars Downsize After Losing Smith, Erickson

The Washington State volleyball team is trading height for athleticism. Out are 6-foot-6 Colleen Smith and 6-4 Alicia Erickson. In is 5-7 freshman LaToya Harris of Portland, who has come up big so far.

“She’s incredibly aggressive, incredibly competitive, jumps 30 inches, a lefty. I love the way LaToya Harris plays,” WSU coach Cindy Fredrick said.

Fredrick announced in May that Smith and Erickson were released. Smith came to Pullman from Albuquerque, N.M., with great expectations, but never lived up to the hype. She averaged 2.25 kills and 0.76 blocks per game and was in and out of the front-row rotation but never showed much power.

“It’s hard to live up to the expectations when you’re 6-foot-6 and everybody expects you to be absolutely awesome,” Fredrick said. “You can’t coach height. And the other thing you can’t coach is competitiveness. When I looked at Colleen and saw her at 6-foot-6, I really thought she would be a force. I think if we could have put the competitiveness of an Elis Arias (1994-97) into a Colleen Smith, she would have been without a doubt a first-team All-American.”

Smith wanted to be closer to her family and has since transferred to Texas Tech. As a junior, she was picked as the Big 12 Conference newcomer of the year.

`I would have kept Colleen, gladly,” Fredrick said.

The departure of Erickson, a spot starter from Henderson, Nev., won’t be as notable.