PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State volleyball Head Coach Jen Greeny welcomed an enthusiastic 16 players, including 10 returning letterwinners, to Bohler Gym Aug. 9, for the first of two weeks of practice sessions for the 2017 season.
This marks the seventh season as head coach at WSU for Greeny, the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Associate Head Coach Burdette Greeny and Assistant Coach Shannon Hunt are also working with the six returning starters from the 2016 squad that finished with a 22-12 overall record, 11-9 and tied for fifth in the Pac-12, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and was ranked No. 24 at the end of the season.
In the 2017 Preseason AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll released Aug. 9, WSU was listed as "also receiving votes" with 67 points (29th). A total of eight Pac-12 teams were ranked in the preseason top 25 or also receiving votes. WSU is also listed in these preseason polls: PrepVolleyball.com - 25th; RichKern - 30th; Pablo - 26th; and VolleyMog.com - 24th.
"We are so excited to be back in the gym for this 2017 season," Greeny said. "It was a great first practice. Everyone had a fabulous attitude and worked really hard. We were able to introduce a lot of new things that we want to implement this season. We are not thinking about last year or the end results of what we really want in this season. We are trying to continue the building process and focus on what we can do every single day to get better."
Returning WSU starters include All-Pac-12 honorable mention selections Taylor Mims (junior, outside hitter, Billings, Mont.), and Casey Schoenlein (senior, outside hitter, Bellevue, Wash.) along with McKenna Woodford (junior, outside hitter, Chandler, Ariz.), Claire Martin (junior middle blocker, Bremerton, Wash.), Nicole Rigoni (senior, setter, Beaverton, Ore.), and Alexis Dirige (sophomore, libero, San Francisco). Mims, Schoenlein and Woodford played this summer on U.S. Collegiate National Teams which are part of USA Volleyball's High Performance pipeline and considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team. Mims was an all-tournament honoree on the gold medal-winning Global Challenge Tournament team in Croatia, while Woodford played in Thailand and Schoenlein in Minneapolis. Additionally, Jocelyn Urias (redshirt sophomore, middle blocker, Tijuana, Mexico) played on the Mexican National Team at the FIVB Grand Prix Tournament.
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. 21, and volleyball practices will be held in the afternoons.
A special "Meet and Greet Night" for WSU Volleyball season ticket holders will be held Tues., Aug. 15, at 6:30 p.m. in Bohler Gym. Season ticket holders will be able to watch the 2017 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.
WSU opens the season in the Washington D.C. area taking on two 2016 NCAA Championship teams: Aug. 27 at American University and Aug. 28 at Howard University. With a quick turnaround, WSU is home to host the Cougar Challenge tournament taking on Incarnate Word and Baylor Aug. 31, and Quinnipiac and College of Charleston Sept. 1 in Bohler Gym. Sept. 8-9 WSU plays New Hampshire and Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn. The final non-conference matches will be Sept. 15-16 at the Missouri State Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational where WSU takes on Tennessee State, UT Chattanooga and host Missouri State.
The Cougars begin Pac-12 Conference against Washington Wed., Sept. 20, at Bohler Gym, in one of the 13 Pac-12 Network live broadcasts of Cougar volleyball this season.
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 12th season of Cougar volleyball.
This marks the seventh season as head coach at WSU for Greeny, the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Associate Head Coach Burdette Greeny and Assistant Coach Shannon Hunt are also working with the six returning starters from the 2016 squad that finished with a 22-12 overall record, 11-9 and tied for fifth in the Pac-12, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and was ranked No. 24 at the end of the season.
In the 2017 Preseason AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll released Aug. 9, WSU was listed as "also receiving votes" with 67 points (29th). A total of eight Pac-12 teams were ranked in the preseason top 25 or also receiving votes. WSU is also listed in these preseason polls: PrepVolleyball.com - 25th; RichKern - 30th; Pablo - 26th; and VolleyMog.com - 24th.
"We are so excited to be back in the gym for this 2017 season," Greeny said. "It was a great first practice. Everyone had a fabulous attitude and worked really hard. We were able to introduce a lot of new things that we want to implement this season. We are not thinking about last year or the end results of what we really want in this season. We are trying to continue the building process and focus on what we can do every single day to get better."
Returning WSU starters include All-Pac-12 honorable mention selections Taylor Mims (junior, outside hitter, Billings, Mont.), and Casey Schoenlein (senior, outside hitter, Bellevue, Wash.) along with McKenna Woodford (junior, outside hitter, Chandler, Ariz.), Claire Martin (junior middle blocker, Bremerton, Wash.), Nicole Rigoni (senior, setter, Beaverton, Ore.), and Alexis Dirige (sophomore, libero, San Francisco). Mims, Schoenlein and Woodford played this summer on U.S. Collegiate National Teams which are part of USA Volleyball's High Performance pipeline and considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team. Mims was an all-tournament honoree on the gold medal-winning Global Challenge Tournament team in Croatia, while Woodford played in Thailand and Schoenlein in Minneapolis. Additionally, Jocelyn Urias (redshirt sophomore, middle blocker, Tijuana, Mexico) played on the Mexican National Team at the FIVB Grand Prix Tournament.
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. 21, and volleyball practices will be held in the afternoons.
A special "Meet and Greet Night" for WSU Volleyball season ticket holders will be held Tues., Aug. 15, at 6:30 p.m. in Bohler Gym. Season ticket holders will be able to watch the 2017 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.
WSU opens the season in the Washington D.C. area taking on two 2016 NCAA Championship teams: Aug. 27 at American University and Aug. 28 at Howard University. With a quick turnaround, WSU is home to host the Cougar Challenge tournament taking on Incarnate Word and Baylor Aug. 31, and Quinnipiac and College of Charleston Sept. 1 in Bohler Gym. Sept. 8-9 WSU plays New Hampshire and Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn. The final non-conference matches will be Sept. 15-16 at the Missouri State Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational where WSU takes on Tennessee State, UT Chattanooga and host Missouri State.
The Cougars begin Pac-12 Conference against Washington Wed., Sept. 20, at Bohler Gym, in one of the 13 Pac-12 Network live broadcasts of Cougar volleyball this season.
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 12th season of Cougar volleyball.