PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State volleyball Head Coach Jen Greeny welcomed an enthusiastic 16 players, including a record-high 12 returning letterwinners, to Bohler Gym Aug. 9, for the first of two weeks of practice sessions for the 2016 season.
Greeny, in her sixth season, and assistant coaches, Burdette Greeny and Shannon Hunt, are working with six starters from the 2015 squad that had the second-best win total in the past 13 seasons. A new face on the bench this season for WSU is volunteer coach Milan Vucinic, a former professional player and coach from Serbia.
"We were really excited about this first practice, getting back out here with the team after what seemed like a long summer," Greeny said. "I think it went really well. Attitude and effort was extremely high. It is definitely nice to have such a big group of returners that really know what we're talking about as far as drills. Last year we had eight freshmen and it was a lot of teaching. This year it is nice to have two new freshmen and our returners have shown them the ropes so we were able to jump right in without a lot of slowdown this morning."
Returning starters include All-Pac-12 selection Kyra Holt (senior, outside hitter, Hercules, Calif.) who played on the Pac-12 All-Stars in China this summer. Pac-12 All-Freshman team selection McKenna Woodford (sophomore, outside hitter, Chandler, Ariz.) and Casey Schoenlein (junior, outside hitter, Bellevue, Wash.) were members of the US Collegiate National team-Europe that won the 14th Annual Global Challenge U22 tournament in Croatia. Coach Greeny was an assistant coach on the CNT-Europe squad. Tani Stephens (senior, defensive specialist, Albany, Ore.) found success playing in sand tournaments this summer, including the AVP Seattle Open tournament.
A special "Meet and Greet Night" for WSU Volleyball season ticket holders will be held Wed., Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. in Bohler Gym. Season ticket holders will be able to watch the 2016 Cougar team play in a light scrimmage, pick up their season tickets, and then meet the players and coaches while enjoying dessert. Season tickets and single game tickets are on sale now and can be bought online at wsucougars.com or by calling 1-800-GO-COUGS.
During the preseason sessions, the Cougars will practice on the court, watch film, and continue with their strength and condition routines, including participating water exercise and yoga. Washington State University fall classes begin Aug. 22, and volleyball practices will be held in the afternoons.
"We are always trying to get better as coaches," Greeny said. "We sat down as a staff and tried to think about maximizing this preseason and what we can do with mixing in a lot of rest time for our student-athletes and recovery. We changed our practice schedule around a little bit and it nice to try something new."
WSU opens the season at the Purdue Mortar Board Tournament Aug. 26-27 in West Lafayette, Ind., and the next weekend travels to Long Beach, Calif., for the Long Beach State Tournament. The Cougars return to the Palouse to host the Cougar Challenge tournament Sept. 9-10, taking on Maryland Eastern Shore, George Washington and Idaho. WSU finishes the pre-conference schedule Sept. 16-17, at the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas.
The Cougars begin Pac-12 Conference play at Washington Wed., Sept. 21, in one of the 11 Pac-12 Network live broadcasts of Cougar volleyball this season. WSU hosts Stanford for its first home Pac-12 match, Friday, Sept. 30.
All road matches will be broadcast live in the Pullman area on KQQQ-AM radio (1150) and online on the wsucougars.com website. Veteran broadcaster Steve Grubbs will be announcing his 11th season of Cougar volleyball.
Greeny, in her sixth season, and assistant coaches, Burdette Greeny and Shannon Hunt, are working with six starters from the 2015 squad that had the second-best win total in the past 13 seasons. A new face on the bench this season for WSU is volunteer coach Milan Vucinic, a former professional player and coach from Serbia.
"We were really excited about this first practice, getting back out here with the team after what seemed like a long summer," Greeny said. "I think it went really well. Attitude and effort was extremely high. It is definitely nice to have such a big group of returners that really know what we're talking about as far as drills. Last year we had eight freshmen and it was a lot of teaching. This year it is nice to have two new freshmen and our returners have shown them the ropes so we were able to jump right in without a lot of slowdown this morning."
Returning starters include All-Pac-12 selection Kyra Holt (senior, outside hitter, Hercules, Calif.) who played on the Pac-12 All-Stars in China this summer. Pac-12 All-Freshman team selection McKenna Woodford (sophomore, outside hitter, Chandler, Ariz.) and Casey Schoenlein (junior, outside hitter, Bellevue, Wash.) were members of the US Collegiate National team-Europe that won the 14th Annual Global Challenge U22 tournament in Croatia. Coach Greeny was an assistant coach on the CNT-Europe squad. Tani Stephens (senior, defensive specialist, Albany, Ore.) found success playing in sand tournaments this summer, including the AVP Seattle Open tournament.
A special "Meet and Greet Night" for WSU Volleyball season ticket holders will be held Wed., Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. in Bohler Gym. Season ticket holders will be able to watch the 2016 Cougar team play in a light scrimmage, pick up their season tickets, and then meet the players and coaches while enjoying dessert. Season tickets and single game tickets are on sale now and can be bought online at wsucougars.com or by calling 1-800-GO-COUGS.
During the preseason sessions, the Cougars will practice on the court, watch film, and continue with their strength and condition routines, including participating water exercise and yoga. Washington State University fall classes begin Aug. 22, and volleyball practices will be held in the afternoons.
"We are always trying to get better as coaches," Greeny said. "We sat down as a staff and tried to think about maximizing this preseason and what we can do with mixing in a lot of rest time for our student-athletes and recovery. We changed our practice schedule around a little bit and it nice to try something new."
WSU opens the season at the Purdue Mortar Board Tournament Aug. 26-27 in West Lafayette, Ind., and the next weekend travels to Long Beach, Calif., for the Long Beach State Tournament. The Cougars return to the Palouse to host the Cougar Challenge tournament Sept. 9-10, taking on Maryland Eastern Shore, George Washington and Idaho. WSU finishes the pre-conference schedule Sept. 16-17, at the Baylor Invitational in Waco, Texas.
The Cougars begin Pac-12 Conference play at Washington Wed., Sept. 21, in one of the 11 Pac-12 Network live broadcasts of Cougar volleyball this season. WSU hosts Stanford for its first home Pac-12 match, Friday, Sept. 30.
All road matches will be broadcast live in the Pullman area on KQQQ-AM radio (1150) and online on the wsucougars.com website. Veteran broadcaster Steve Grubbs will be announcing his 11th season of Cougar volleyball.