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Show o sports Sports editor: Andrew Aragon Phone: 626-7983 No-name volleyball team training for season r t r " iii i rp o By Andrew Aragon sports editor-The Signpost Weber State University's volleyball team is looking to improve from last season's 6-25 record. The task will not be easy, as the Lady Wildcats lost three team leaders to graduation: outside attackers Annette Hill and Lisa Holley, and middle blocker Nicole Scott-Davies. "Those three have been the mainstay of our program for several seasons," women's volleyball coach Al Givens said. "You never look to replace a senior with a freshman. We're looking for players already in the program to come in and step up." Givens said hard work and effort can make up for the team's talent loss. "We're sort of the no-name-team," Givens said. "We don't have any franchise players, but we have several good players who can share the burden." Givens will be counting on team captains Teresa McArthur and Melissa Leonard to lead the team. "They do the little detail things. They lead by example and word," Givens said. Setter Jaime Sant will return to the Wildcat program after a year of studying abroad in Israel as part of a Brigham Young University extension program. "Jamie is small in structure but has the heart of a lion," Givens said. "She's 5'6", but she probably be- Women's soccer hopes to emerge By Andrew Aragon sports editor-The Signpost Weber State University's women's soccer team will begin preparation this week for its second season in Division 1-A, and the inaugural season of Big Sky Conference women's soccer. The team has adopted the motto of "In it to win it," because its season goal is to win the Big Sky's first championship. In the Big Sky, WSU will be joined by Northern Arizona University, the University of Montana, Cal-State Northridge, Portland State University and Cal-State Sacramento. Idaho State University and Eastern Washington will begin playing in 1998 which will make it an eight-team conference. For the first year of competition, each team will play each other only one time that will count in the Big Sky standings. WSU will play NAU and Cal-State Northridge two times, but only the second meeting will count in the standings. The team with the best regular season record will host the Big Sky tournament Nov. 6-8. WSU women's soccer coach Lynn Kofoed is weary of what type of weather might be in store for the tournament."It could be scary playing here or at Montana in the first week of November," Kofoed said. Kofoed said Montana is probably I . i - ... I , : , t . .. -. . 1 f - N, -r' - - The women's volleyball team lieves she's 6'5". It makes her a good player and a great competitor." WSU lost two players who transferred, but gained Rena Gilden and Brandi Reynolds. Gilden played for Idaho Stale University, and Reynolds played at Ricks College and Eastern New Mexico before transferring to WSU. Reynolds was good enough to earn a spot on WSU's men's volleyball club last year. Middle-blockers Liz Weston, Laura Black and April Taylor are also Captain Tara Ferrin (11) led the the team to beat in the conference because of its experience. "They are in their fourth year of competition," Kofoed said. "It helps to have the experience of working together and practicing together. I have seniors who have played together only one year," Kofoed said. "Every program at Montana is good. They spare no expense and do things right," Kofoed -said. The Lady Wildcats will be looking to its six seniors for leadership. r h ( : - began practicing Friday with plans of improving from last year. expected to contribute this season. Givens said they received substantial playing time last season. This year's schedule is much more friendly to the Lady Wildcats than last year's. WSU had to play its first 15 games on the road last season because of renovations at the Dee Events Center. This season, the Lady 'Cats will play four of its first seven games at home, including the first-ever volleyball tournament to be hosted by the team in scoring last season. Three of the seniors, Tricia and Tara Ferrin, and Jaime Jensen are the team captains. "We will be counting on our three captains to lead by example and to take the freshmen under their wings and make them an intricate part of the team," Kofoed said. Tara Ferrin was the team's leading scorer last season with 10 goals and four assists. Kofoed said she is looking for mid-fielder Melanie Miller and util 1 school. For the Weber State Classic, held Sept. 5-6, WSU will host Southern Mississippi, Santa Clara and Boise State playing each team one time. The schedule will include an alumni match, where this year's team will take on a group of former Wildcats."The alumni match might be one of the toughest games on the schedule," Givens said. "There will be a lot of pride at stake. The alumni team as first Big ity player Mary Bates to score more than they did last year. She also expects mid-fielder Deedra Russell to be the team's field general. On defense, goalie Quincy Blood returns to run the team's backfield. "She will keep everyone working together back there," Kofoed said. The backfield will feature junior fullback Amber Bailey and sophomore stopper Jenny Nelson. "Those two are stalwart, constant players who do their jobs quietly and don't get a lot of recognition," Kofoed said. Last season, the team focused on building the defense. This season, the team will focus on scoring more. Kofoed sees an emphasis on scoring as a trend in soccer. "Most teams are trying to emphasize attack more than just defense, and that's the side of the game we will emphasize this year," Kofoed said. The women's soccer team will be much better prepared for this season than they were last season. Kofoed was hired as coach in March and had to start the program from scratch. Because of NCAA rules, she wasn't allowed to work with her players until August. "We began Division 1-A soccer on two weeks of practice. We played Utah and BYU and were tied at 0-0 at half-time, but we just ran out of juice. You can't condition players for Division 1-A in two weeks," Kofoed said. will have some All-Big Sky performers."The Lady Wildcats open the season at the Alaska Nanook Classic tournament. WSU's first opponent Aug. 29 will be Utah State University's team, and Givens is happy about that. "It's nice to open against someone we're familiar with," Givens said. "But it's kind of ironic to travel to Alaska to play against them. The volleyball team's goal is to make it to the Big Sky's post-season tournament. The top six teams in the conference will qualify for the tournament."The Big Sky's going to be a dog fight," Givens said. "It could come down to the last two or three weeks to see who's going to make it to the tournament." Givens is optimistic, but unsure of how well his team will do in season play. "We don't have one player returning with Big Sky accolades, so there are question marks," Givens said. "But we have a group of individuals who are willing to work hard." "I like this team a lot. They work hard and work well as a team," Givens said. Givens is comfortable with his team's underdog role in the Big Sky. "It's not a bad position to be in," Givens said. "It's easier to play with no pressure. We're taking ano-nonsense approach into the season, and we're saying 'just play.'" Sky champ "This time, we've had a whole year to prepare, so we have no excuses," Kofoed said. "We fully expect to beat Utah and BYU." Goalie Blood will have extra incentive to beat BYU. In a spring practice game between the Wildcats and Cougars, WSU led 1-0 before BYU scored a goal by leveling Blood. The result of the leveling for Blood was a severely sprained ankle and a loose tooth that eventually had to be pulled out. Kofoed said she doesn't feel like she's sticking her neck out by saying her team expects to beat Utah and BYU. "I'm confident in my players. I know how hard they've worked, and they have nothing to lose," Kofoed said. Kofoed scheduled the Utes and Big Sky opponents late in the season for a reason. "We hope by then we'll be playing together as a cohesive unit and know what we're doing." Kofoed said. WSU will play seven home games this season at the Swenson RE. field. The Lady Wildcats will also have three other in-state games, two at the BYU Invitational tournament and a road game at Utah. WSU will begin practicing Thursday. The first game of the season will be a home game Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. against NAU. |