After practicing intensely for a few weeks, the Chico State women’s volleyball team is prepped for the start of the regular season.
The 2013 season starts off Thursday with a trip to the Hawaii Invitational in Honolulu.
The Wildcats have been preparing for a great season and started practicing a week before school. Their practices included drills, scrimmages and practice games, said head coach Cody Hein.
“A variety of drills for each day at practice helps utilize my players’ different strengths so that they can carry the team to a winning season,” Hein said.
This season, the team has a few newcomers, in addition to a few familiar faces, including Alex Shurtz, Lindsay Quigley and Emily Duran.
This year the team is joined by seven freshmen, who are adding new strengths to the team.
“All the newcomers to the team have been doing good so far and I don’t know which ones will carry the team the most, but I look forward to seeing how they do,” Hein said.
Quigley, who had 266 kills in 2012 and led the Wildcats with 50 blocks, is hoping this season will be a lot better and that the team will make the playoffs.
“Last season our women’s volleyball team took sixth in conference and this time we hope to do even better by starting off strong and maintaining it,” Quigley said.
Quigley’s made it a personal goal to be on the starting team this season.
Emily Duran, another key player, hopes the team stays strong this season in light of a string of losses in the previous season.
“We hit a bump in the road last season and didn’t make playoffs,” Duran said.
Duran led the Wildcats with 30 aces in 2012 and was second in assists. Duran hopes to stay consistent this season.
This September will be very busy for the Wildcats, who have their first conference home game at 7 p.m. Sept. 18 against Cal State Stanislaus. Before that, the ’Cats will gain valuable experience at the Hawaii Invitational and the Seawolf Spike Tournament, which begins Sept. 13.
By the start of conference play, the Wildcats hope to be ready to claw through any opposing squad that stands in their way.
Megan Asel can be reached at [email protected] or @meg_asel on Twitter.