Heffernan cautions 7-1 Cougs
Washington State University, off to an outstanding start to the volleyball season, will attempt to build on last weekend’s championship run in its own Baden Cougar Challenge tournament when it travels to Arlington, Texas, to compete in this weekend’s Texas-Arlington Invitational.
The Cougars (7-1), led by all-tournament efforts from sophomore Brittany Johnson, junior Adetokunbo Faleti and senior Kelly Rosin, dusted off UNLV, Boise State and UC Davis in Bohler Gym last week, prompting Rosin to say she feels like the team is “building up that Cougar pride” again.
But coach Brian Heffernan warned that his team still has plenty of room for improvement and should not be satisfied with the glossy early-season record.
“Our team needs to be more mindful that we are working to become very good,” he said following Saturday night’s 3-0 tournament sweep of UC Davis. “They feel good because we’re 7-1 right now and it’s easy to get caught up in that and forget what it took to get here.
“Everyone has worked hard in this program, and I think we owe it to ourselves to play better than we played. I don’t think it’s a physical thing. I think it’s more of a mental thing and a mindset that we are here to do our very best.”
The Cougars open play in Arlington on Friday with an 8 a.m. match against Duquesne. The other teams in the tournament are Tulsa, Louisiana-Lafayette and host Texas-Arlington.
Tough start for Bucs
Not all volleyball polls take a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately approach to their rating procedures.
That fact became evident last week when Whitworth College – despite losing all six starters from last year’s 22-4 team that advanced to the NCAA Regional Final – was ranked No. 20 in preseason rankings of the CSTV/AVCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
As expected, the Pirates (1-4) have struggled early, dropping all four matches they played in last weekend’s Boxer Kick Off tournament in Forest Grove, Ore.
Things don’t get any easier this week as the Bucs stay on the road, where they will face La Verne (Calif.) Thursday evening before moving on to Claremont, Calif., to compete in the Pacific Coast Classic on Friday and Saturday.
Tourney woes for Zags
Gonzaga, which had not hosted a tournament since 2003, didn’t have much success in last weekend’s Gonzaga Volleyball Invitational, which played out in the Martin Centre.
The Bulldogs (2-5) beat Gardner-Webb but lost to Connecticut and Portland State to finish the tournament 1-2.
Still, the Zags managed to place two players – junior setter Heather Dunn and junior middle blocker Briawna Mueller – on the all-tournament team.