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Defending their home turf
Team challenges three non-conference foes at Bohler Gym this weekend to start season
Mike Baldwin
The Daily Evergreen
The Baden Cougar Challenge Tournament will be a crucial event for the women’s volleyball teams competing this weekend – especially for the school who’s hosting it.
Bohler Gym will feature a plethora of teams this Friday and Saturday that include the WSU women’s volleyball squad, South Dakota State University, University of Northern Colorado and University of Portland. The event marks the beginning of the season for the Cougars, who return five starters, and fourth-year head coach Brian Heffernan.
“We come into this season with a lot more returning experience than we’ve had in the past years,” Heffernan said. “We had six athletes last year, who played major roles on our team, and we were going through things for the first time and now it’s no longer new for them.
“They know what to expect and they know what we expect.” Although the event includes non-conference opponents for the Cougars, the collection of three teams in two days of matches is not completely foreign. Last season, the team lost to SDSU 1-3, but triumphed 3-0 over Portland. Starting this season with a trio of victories at home may set the tone for the remainder of the year. The Cougars play their first game at 7 p.m. on Friday against Portland.
“We definitely need to get off on the right foot,” Heffernan said. “Our goal this weekend is to perform the very best we can as a team. We want to win our event but I think winning the event is a result of doing things the right way.” To prepare for their rematch with the two schools this week, the Cougars have watched film from the previous matches in 2006 to pinpoint what went wrong against the SDSU Jackrabbits and what succeeded against the UP Pilots. “We’re very familiar with them,” Heffernan said. “We lost to South Dakota State the opening weekend last year, and we’ve played Portland each of the last three years I’ve been here. “We’re in a situation where we know two of the three opponents this weekend.” In addition to competing against the Pilots and Jackrabbits, the Cougars face Northern Colorado at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Last season, the Bears competed in the Big Sky conference for their first season and finished 13-15 overall, and 7-9 in conference play. . . . (read more)
Go State!
Defending their home turf
Team challenges three non-conference foes at Bohler Gym this weekend to start season
Mike Baldwin
The Daily Evergreen
The Baden Cougar Challenge Tournament will be a crucial event for the women’s volleyball teams competing this weekend – especially for the school who’s hosting it.
Bohler Gym will feature a plethora of teams this Friday and Saturday that include the WSU women’s volleyball squad, South Dakota State University, University of Northern Colorado and University of Portland. The event marks the beginning of the season for the Cougars, who return five starters, and fourth-year head coach Brian Heffernan.
“We come into this season with a lot more returning experience than we’ve had in the past years,” Heffernan said. “We had six athletes last year, who played major roles on our team, and we were going through things for the first time and now it’s no longer new for them.
“They know what to expect and they know what we expect.” Although the event includes non-conference opponents for the Cougars, the collection of three teams in two days of matches is not completely foreign. Last season, the team lost to SDSU 1-3, but triumphed 3-0 over Portland. Starting this season with a trio of victories at home may set the tone for the remainder of the year. The Cougars play their first game at 7 p.m. on Friday against Portland.
“We definitely need to get off on the right foot,” Heffernan said. “Our goal this weekend is to perform the very best we can as a team. We want to win our event but I think winning the event is a result of doing things the right way.” To prepare for their rematch with the two schools this week, the Cougars have watched film from the previous matches in 2006 to pinpoint what went wrong against the SDSU Jackrabbits and what succeeded against the UP Pilots. “We’re very familiar with them,” Heffernan said. “We lost to South Dakota State the opening weekend last year, and we’ve played Portland each of the last three years I’ve been here. “We’re in a situation where we know two of the three opponents this weekend.” In addition to competing against the Pilots and Jackrabbits, the Cougars face Northern Colorado at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Last season, the Bears competed in the Big Sky conference for their first season and finished 13-15 overall, and 7-9 in conference play. . . . (read more)
Go State!
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