Area’s volleyball teams take to courts this week

All four Division I universities in the region open their 2005 volleyball schedules this week, with Idaho and Eastern Washington looking to build on their recent success, while Washington State and Gonzaga search for ways to stop the bleeding.

Idaho, which received its second consecutive at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament last fall, despite finishing sixth in the Big West Conference, has jumped to the Western Athletic Conference and opens play Friday at Ohio University’s AmeriHost Volleyball Invitational in Athens.

Eastern Washington, winner of three consecutive regular-season Big Sky Conference championships, and Gonzaga, coming off a winless West Coast Conference campaign, also launch their seasons Friday at the Oregon Kickoff Classic in Eugene.

Washington State, which finished 5-26 overall and 2-16 in the Pacific-10 Conference under first-year coach Brian Heffernan last fall, plays its opener Saturday at Portland.

At Idaho, sixth-year coach Debbie Buchanan admits to not having the best of handles on what to expect from her young team’s venture into the WAC, especially after losing several key starters from last year’s 17-13 squad that finished 9-9 against Big West opposition.

“I expect for us to be good this year, but it’s hard to know exactly where we’ll be because we have a lot of newcomers coming in,” she said. “I do think this is going to be a rebuilding season in some ways. We’ve been really strong in the middle the last few years, and now it’s going to flip to the outside.”

That’s where senior Kati Tikker, a first-team All-Big West performer last season, returns to build on the impressive number she posted as a junior. The former Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls High standout led the Vandals with an average of 4.49 kills per game and is expected to anchor the front row again this fall.

Buchanan has another proven senior leader in libero Meghan Brown, who averaged a team-best 4.68 digs per game last fall, and another returning starter in junior middle blocker Erin Curtis, who was slowed by injuries throughout much of the 2004 season.

Depth up front could be a problem, however, with junior Saxony Brown forced to move to setter to help offset the graduation loss of Mandy Becker. That means the Vandals will need to get some help from at least a few of the 10 freshmen on their roster.

Among the best of the newcomers is Lauren Mathis, a 6-foot redshirt freshman from Kennewick who is the favorite, according to Buchanan, to replace departed all-conference middle blocker Sarah Meek.

At Eastern Washington, where sixth-year coach Wade Benson has his Eagles looking for a fourth consecutive regular-season Big Sky title, optimism abounds once again.

The Eagles return four all-conference players – all seniors – from last year’s 20-10 team that went 12-2 in conference play but lost to Sacramento State in the finals of the Big Sky Tournament.

“I look for really good things to happen, and for us to be one of the top three teams in the conference race,” Benson said. “We have four really good seniors who have been through a lot, and they’re hungry.”

Heading that quartet of seniors is outside hitter Lizzy Mellor of Colfax, who was a first-team all-conference pick last fall after averaging 3.45 kills per game.

Middle blocker Ashley Jensen and setter Christina Albers, both second-year transfers, were named to the all-Big Sky second team, and defensive specialist Andrea Verdoljack returns as the conference’s reigning Libero of the Year after averaging 4.5 digs per game as a junior.

Benson said he expects to have the best middle blocker and setter in the conference in Jensen and Albers, but admits his team could still be little thin in the middle following the graduation losses of last season’s Big Sky MVP Keva Sonderen and first-team all-conference pick Megan Kitterman, who both hit better than .300 in 2004.

The best bets to step into the middle and contribute are redshirt freshmen Keri Beck and Chelsea Ross.

In the last three years EWU has compiled a 71-20 record and Benson sees no reason to think this year’s team will take a step back.

“It’s not easy to continue that consistency,” he said. “I think the surprising thing to people in the area and in the conference is that we really haven’t had a down year.

“I don’t think this will be a down year, either.”

At Gonzaga, fourth-year coach Kip Yoshimura is hoping to end a recent run of down years.

In Yoshimura’s first three seasons at GU, the Bulldogs have won 12 of 87 matches while finishing no higher than a tie for seventh in the WCC standings. Last year’s team finished 4-25 overall, went winless in 14 WCC matches and closed the season with 19 consecutive losses.

The good news for Zags fans is that Yoshimura has recruited well during his short tenure and expects to reap some benefits from his hard work this fall.

“I’m excited about what this season holds for our team,” he said. “We will be a young team with the possibility of having five or six freshmen and sophomores on the floor at any given time. However, I have confidence in the players we have recruited that they will step up to the challenges ahead.”

Heading the turnaround effort are sophomores Becky Jones and Briawna Mueller, a pair of front-row starters who each played key roles last fall. Mueller led the team with 120 blocks and posted an attack percentage of .211. Jones finished with 208 kills, the fourth-highest total on the team.

They will join senior Lacey Bell, who averaged 2.25 kills and 2.5 digs as a junior, on a front line that will feature much more depth than in past seasons, thanks to the addition of redshirt freshman Tianna Tuatogaloa and rookies Michelle Boevers and Paige Dillingham.

Boevers, a two-time all-stater from Edmond, Okla., arrives with the most impressive resume, having been named Oklahoma’s Gatorade Player of the Year last fall.

“All three of these new players should see a good deal of playing time during their freshman season,” Yoshimura said. “All three were proven players at the high school and club level, and now they will get their chances to show they can play at the Division I level.”

The same could be said for sophomore Heather Dunn, who expects to become the Bulldogs’ fourth different starting setter is as many seasons. Dunn, who replaces departed senior Emilee Gihring, played in 56 games as a freshman but was used primarily as a defensive specialist and finished the year with 22 assists.

At Washington State, Heffernan will continued his massive rebuilding project with a roster that includes only two returning starters – junior middle blocker Jen Barcus and junior outside hitter Kelly Rosin – and only one senior, Te’Ara Epps, a middle blocker and first-year transfer from Division II Cal State Los Angeles.

Barcus, of Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls, was named the Cougars’ most improved player at the end of last season, but averaged only 1.98 kills per game. Rosin averaged 3.60 kills per game, but hit only .169.

Still, Heffernan feels good about his two returning starters.

“Jen Barcus really started to elevate her level of play and her presence within the team in the last third of the last year,” he said. “She’s learning what it means to be a leader and to perform that role on a consistent basis.”

As a sophomore, Rosin took 342 more swings than anyone on the team – a statistic that Heffernan hopes to change.

“Everyone knew Kelly was one of the two people that we would set the ball to on a consistent basis last year,” he said. “This year’s team should be more balanced, and she will not feel the pressure of being the person who is getting every out-of-system set.”

The job of replacing departed setter Nicole Martin will probably fall on the shoulders of Gwen Davis, a 5-11 junior from Walla Walla, who practiced with team last year after transferring from Colorado State but did not play in fall or spring matches.

Whitworth, the only Division III team in the area, opens play on Sept. 2 at the Washington University Classic in St. Louis. Sixth-year coach Steve Rupe returns five starters and the top two liberos from last year’s team, which finished 19-5 overall and 12-4 in the Northwest Conference.

The Pirates should be solid at the outside hitter position where junior Julie Marsh, a first-team all-NWC pick last fall, returns after averaging 3.58 kills and 4.31 digs per game as a sophomore. In addition, the Bucs return starting setter Rebekah Hornor, who was a second-team all-conference pick last season.

“Experience will be the biggest key for us, and motivation as well,” said Rupe, noting that last year’s team lost two matches despite serving for the win in the fifth game and dropped another to NWC champion Pacific Lutheran despite serving three times to force a fifth game.

“Losing those three matches in the way we did last year did not sit well with us, and we will not let those wins slip away this year.”

Community Colleges of Spokane and North Idaho both expect to be competitive in the junior college ranks.

NIC, coming off a 17-13 season that included a 9-9 record and a fourth-place finish in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, opens it season on Friday at the College of Southern Idaho Tournament.

CCS, which finished 28-15 overall and 10-2 in the Eastern Division of the NWAACC last fall, kicks off its first season under coach Jenni Rosselli at Shoreline Community College in Seattle on Sept. 2. Rosselli was hired to replace Irene Matlock, who retired following the 2004 season.