Volleyball ahead of preseason WAC expectations
So much for accurate preseason predictions.
Heading into WAC play this weekend in the Spectrum vs. the Fresno State Bulldogs (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and the San Jose State Spartans (Saturday, 7 p.m.), the USU women’s volleyball team (7-7) is ranked fifth in a conference of nine teams.
The preseason coaches poll had the Aggies picked to finish eighth.
“That’s a terrible question,” Aggie Head Coach Grayson DuBose said when asked if he is satisfied with his team’s current standing in the conference.
“You’re never satisfied. As far as the prediction goes, it’s probably an accurate prediction considering what we lost. [But] for sure we’re gonna finish better than that.”
That’s nothing new. DuBose is quoted as saying the same thing in the USU Media Guide before the season began.
Three starters and five letterwinners were lost from last season’s team, and seven new players are on this year’s squad.
That’s a major reason for USU’s low preseason sitting.
“Our team is more talented than people knew because they just didn’t know who we were before,” DuBose said. “We’re gonna finish better than we’re picked to finish. That’s my hope, anyway.”
The Aggies are second in the WAC in opponents hitting percentage (.158), fourth in blocks per game (2.63) and fifth in service aces per game (1.52).
“I don’t know why our team was picked to be eighth,” Aggie middle blocker Melissa Larson said before practice Tuesday afternoon. “I think that we’re definitely better than that.”
Don’t be deceived by the Bulldogs’ 2-9 record. Already they have faced five top 25 teams, including the fourth-ranked Washington Huskies last week.
Like the Aggies, the Bulldogs were swept by both Oregon and Utah earlier this season.
This season the Bulldogs will face 10 NCAA tournament teams from last year, six nationally ranked teams and two teams that competed in the 2005 volleyball Final Four.
According to this week’s media release from the Fresno State Athletic Department, it is possibly the toughest schedule the Bulldogs have ever played.
It won’t be any easier Saturday for the Aggies.
The Spartans are 9-4, the second-best mark at the moment in the WAC, behind the 14-0 New Mexico State Aggies.
Last week the Spartans lost to No. 8 Santa Clara in five games. In that match, the Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead before dropping the next three games.
The Spartans’ Jessie Shull leads the WAC in digs (6.20 per game – also 11th in the country) and is sixth in service aces (.45).
Kristina Conrad is third in assists with 11.25 a match.
By game, the Spartans are third in hitting percentage (.234) and digs (16.59), and fourth in kills (14.82), assists (13.33) and service aces (1.84).
The Aggies will have their hands full.
“I expect those guys to come in prepared and ready to play,” DuBose said.” I expect those guys to both give us good matches.”
As for Larson, who is hitting .233 on the season and averaging nearly two kills per game, the opportunity of showing the WAC what her team is made of is something to look forward to.
“I’m excited to show people that we are better than that,” she said. “We work hard. We really do. We have a good coaching staff. We do what they tell us. It’s gonna be fun to show people that we’re a good team.
“It’s very important for us to be consistent with our emotion so we’re not just up and down. That’ll help us perform better at a higher level.”