PULLMAN, Wash. - The Washington State volleyball team hit the court for the first time as a team Wednesday as preseason camp opened at Bohler Gym. The 2018 Cougars spent the summer playing around the world including a European Trip that saw WSU head to Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy. The preseason camp for the Cougars runs until the end of the month when WSU heads to Raleigh, N.C. to take on Virginia Commonwealth in the season opener. WSU's home opener takes place two weeks later at the Cougar Challenge Tournament when the Cougars host McNeese State on Sept. 7.
The Cougars return a veteran squad that is coming off back-to-back NCAA Championship tournament Second Round appearances and returns 10 letterwinners. Six seniors dot the roster for the Cougars including outside hitter Taylor Mims who is fresh off an MVP performance for the US Collegiate National Team-Europe at the 2018 Global Challenge in Croatia. In 2017, Mims was named to the 2017 All-Pac-12 Volleyball First Team and to the PrepVolleyball.com and VolleyballMag.com All-America Honorable Mention teams. She was a team co-captain and the Cougars statistical leader with 4.17 kills per set and 4.75 points per set, both sixth-best in Pac-12, 30th and 26th in NCAA. In addition to Mims, the Cougars return nearly their entire starting lineup from a season ago with McKenna Woodford, Claire Martin, Jocelyn Urias, and Ella Lajos give WSU a potent attack to rival any team in the nation. In the back, Alexis Dirige, upped her game yet another level over the summer as she won gold, alongside of Mims, in Croatia as Team USA's libero. The junior enters the year just outside of the Cougars' top-10 in digs after becoming the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 digs.
Heading into the season, the Cougars will sit just outside of the nation's top-25 after receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll. Seven Pac-12 teams were ranked in the first poll of the year including No. 1 Stanford. The Cougars will head into the fray of the Pac-12 Conference on Sept. 20 at Washington. 12 of WSU's conference contests can be seen on the Pac-12 Network including the opener at Washington and the Cougars' home opener against Utah on Sept. 28.
The Cougars return a veteran squad that is coming off back-to-back NCAA Championship tournament Second Round appearances and returns 10 letterwinners. Six seniors dot the roster for the Cougars including outside hitter Taylor Mims who is fresh off an MVP performance for the US Collegiate National Team-Europe at the 2018 Global Challenge in Croatia. In 2017, Mims was named to the 2017 All-Pac-12 Volleyball First Team and to the PrepVolleyball.com and VolleyballMag.com All-America Honorable Mention teams. She was a team co-captain and the Cougars statistical leader with 4.17 kills per set and 4.75 points per set, both sixth-best in Pac-12, 30th and 26th in NCAA. In addition to Mims, the Cougars return nearly their entire starting lineup from a season ago with McKenna Woodford, Claire Martin, Jocelyn Urias, and Ella Lajos give WSU a potent attack to rival any team in the nation. In the back, Alexis Dirige, upped her game yet another level over the summer as she won gold, alongside of Mims, in Croatia as Team USA's libero. The junior enters the year just outside of the Cougars' top-10 in digs after becoming the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 digs.
Heading into the season, the Cougars will sit just outside of the nation's top-25 after receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll. Seven Pac-12 teams were ranked in the first poll of the year including No. 1 Stanford. The Cougars will head into the fray of the Pac-12 Conference on Sept. 20 at Washington. 12 of WSU's conference contests can be seen on the Pac-12 Network including the opener at Washington and the Cougars' home opener against Utah on Sept. 28.