Cougars enter rugged part of schedule
The Washington State volleyball team has been hit by a lengthy losing streak, a key injury and the latest obstacle saw four players slowed by a nasty illness prior to last week’s matches against the Arizona schools.
This week’s challenge: A couple of Top 10 opponents.
The Cougars (9-10, 0-5 Pac-10) are still looking for their first conference win as they head to the Bay Area to face No. 2 Stanford on Thursday and No. 10 Cal on Friday. WSU’s next five matches are against Top 10 foes in the rugged Pac-10.
“That’s what we all signed up for,” fourth-year WSU coach Brian Heffernan said. “If we’re always comparing ourselves to No. 2 Stanford or No. 4 UCLA it may seem like we’re kind of spinning our wheels a little. We’re trying to move forward and narrow the gap a little between where our program is and where their programs are.”
Four Cougars played last week despite catching an illness that forced them to spend time at the student health center hooked up to an IV.
Heffernan has been pleased with the team’s attitude despite an eight-match losing streak.
“I have not seen any signs of slowing down,” he said. “We’re focused on trying to improve and get better. Our spirits have been pretty good.”
Senior Adetokunbo Faleti’s practice and game time continue to be limited by an ailing knee.
Big week for Vandals
Idaho (8-9, 4-2 WAC), winner of five of its last six, entertains San Jose State on Thursday and No. 12 Hawaii on Saturday, then visits Utah State on Oct. 18. In the WAC preseason poll, Hawaii was tabbed No. 1 and San Jose State and Idaho tied for third. Utah State is surprising the pollsters with a 6-2 WAC mark, good for third place.
“We definitely need a significant win,” UI coach Debbie Buchanan said. “It would have been nice to have one of those early on, but at the same time with our youth, the kids are doing a lot of good things.”
Impressive resumes
When Eastern Washington visits Big Sky rival Sacramento State on Saturday, there will be more than 1,500 collegiate coaching wins on the sidelines. EWU’s Irene Matlock has 721 career wins; Sacramento State’s Debbie Colberg is fourth among active D-I coaches with 816 victories.
EWU and Sacramento State have met for the Big Sky Conference tournament title the last seven years. The Hornets are 6-1 in those matchups.
Colberg’s current team appears to be one of her best. The Hornets (17-3, 6-0), who entertain Portland State (7-0 Big Sky) on Friday, have their best record after 20 matches since 1995 and they’ve won all 18 games against Big Sky foes.
“I think it’s going to be tough for us, especially going down there first,” Matlock said. “What’s sweet about that is we’ll have played them once and then they have to come to our house. Our whole goal has been to work, learn and make the tournament and peak at the tournament. We’re really doing what we’ve planned to do.”
Bulldogs top Eagles
Elaina Renius had 14 kills and Heather Dunn dished out 35 assists to lead Gonzaga to a 30-24, 34-32, 30-24 non-conference win over Eastern Washington at Reese Court in Cheney.
Briawna Mueller had 13 kills and Michelle Boevers chipped in 10 for GU.
Alysha Cook had 12 kills to lead the Eagles.
With the victory, Gonzaga improved to 13-7 while Eastern Washington fell to 6-12.
Quick sets
Gonzaga (13-7, 1-2 WCC) entertains last-place Portland (7-10, 0-4) Saturday at 2. … Idaho’s Haley Larsen was third in kills per game (5.41) nationally entering last week’s matches. Larsen has 914 total attacks, more than her 886 swings last season. … EWU’s Hayley Hills leads Big Sky sophomores in kills in conference (3.97 per game) and overall matches (4.79). Mandy Daniels tops Sky juniors in digs (4.84 per game). … Whitworth’s Cassie Moore leads the Northwest Conference by a substantial margin in aces (0.75) and digs (6.9) per game.