Huskies Open 2010 Hosting Mercer And Eastern
August 25, 2010 | Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2010
Season Preview: Middle Blockers
Season Preview: Liberos
THE INVITATIONAL AT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Friday, August 27
#8 WASHINGTON
Mercer vs. Eastern Washington, 11:00 a.m. (Connolly Center)
Seattle U. vs. Portland State, 7:00 p.m. (Connolly Center)
Saturday, August 28
Portland State vs. Mercer, 11:00 a.m. (Hec Edmundson Pavilion)
#8 WASHINGTON vs. Eastern Washington, 7:00 p.m. (Hec Edmundson Pavilion)
Seattle U. vs. Eastern Washington, 11:00 a.m. (Connolly Center)
Seattle U. vs. Mercer, 7:00 p.m. (Connolly Center)
SETTING THE SCENE
Husky volleyball is back in action this weekend, as Washington kicks off another thrilling season with home matches against Mercer and Eastern Washington at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
The Huskies open the 2010 season co-hosting The Invitational At Seattle, Washington along with Seattle University. Hec Ed hosts three matches this Friday and Saturday while the Redhawks host four matches at the Connolly Center.
First up for Washington will be Mercer, Friday at 7 p.m. at Hec Ed Pavilion. Saturday night the Huskies will host the Eagles of Eastern for another 7 p.m. start time. Portland State and Mercer will also be in action on Saturday afternoon at 11 a.m. at Hec Ed.
As has been the case every year since Jim McLaughlin took over the UW program nine years ago, the start of a new season brings high expetations for the Dawgs. Washington once again expects to compete for the Pac-10 title, and pursue a ninth-straight NCAA tournament appearance.
The Huskies are ranked eighth in the AVCA preseason poll, and return five starters from last year's 24-6 squad which advanced to the NCAA second round. McLaughlin will look towards senior outside hitters Kindra Carlson and Becky Perry, and senior setter Jenna Hagglund to lead the way. All three have earned All-America honors in their careers.
FOR STARTERS...
Washington is 27-9 all-time in season openers, including eight-straight wins from 2002 to the present day. Last year the women opened with a 3-0 sweep of San Jose State at home. Washington is 10-2 overall in season-openers at home. Under Jim McLaughlin, the UW is 8-1 in season-openers, losing the first match of his first season in 2001 to BYU but having won the last eight.
2009 IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR
Washington entered the 2009 season with typically high expectations, and burst out of the gate with straight set wins in each of its first 15 matches. Washington was the last team in the country to lose a set, winning a programrecord 46 in a row. In a win at the Tampa Twice Tournament, the Huskies swept then-No. 9 Minnesota and then-No. 4 Florida on back-to-back nights. All told the Huskies went 10-0 in non-conference play. Stanford gave UW its first loss, 3-2 in Palo Alto, but the Huskies got revenge with a sweep of Stanford in Seattle. It was Stanford's first straight-set Pac-10 loss since 2006. The Dawgs finished with a 13-5 Pac-10 record, and had to settle for second after dropping the finale in five sets to Oregon after having three match points go by the wayside. The Huskies, ranked No. 3 for much of the season, were seeded sixth in their eighth consecutive NCAA tournament and sent to Colorado State for the first and second rounds. After beating Northern Colorado in the opener, UW was upset by CSU on its home court, 3-1, to end the season. Postseason honors were numerous, as four Huskies earned AVCA All-America honors: Kindra Carlson (2nd Team), Tamari Miyashiro (2nd), Jenna Hagglund, (3rd), and Bianca Rowland (HM). Carlson, Miyashiro and Hagglund were voted All-Pac-10, and senior Jill Collymore was an Academic All-American. During the year, Miyashiro broke the school digs record, finishing ninth in NCAA history at 2,382. Rowland set the school record for attack percentage, hitting .456 to lead the Pac-10 and rank third in the NCAA. Washington led the Pac-10 in hitting at .288 and also limited opponents to a league-best .174 percentage.
ALL HOME MATCHES ARE ONDEMAND
If you miss any of Washington's home matches this year, or just want to relive the action or a particular play, remember that every match is available to watch on Comcast OnDemand. The video is taken from the GoHuskies.com live stream with all the accoutrements of your typical television broadcast. To find the Huskies, start under "Get Local" or "Sports & Fitness" then "Local Sports" followed by "UW" and then "Volleyball."
SCOUTING THE BEARS
The Mercer Bears begin their 2010 season looking to build on a strong finish to 2009. Mercer won five of its final six matches to finish last year at 11-18 overall and 9-11 in Atlantic Sun matches. The Bears were picked to finish eighth in the 11-team league this year. Mercer returns five starters, four of whom averaged more than 2.0 kills per set last year. They will have to replace their starting setter, but added six new freshmen to the mix. Head Coach Noelle Rooke enters her seventh season, and was the 2008 Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to an 18-10 record, the most wins for the program in 14 years.
ABOUT THE SERIES
This will be the first meeting ever between the Huskies and Mercer in volleyball.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Eastern Washington will take on Mercer on Friday afternoon then have the night off, coming back to play Seattle on Saturday afternoon before coming to Hec Ed. The Eagles are coming off an 18-11 campaign in 2009. Senior middle blocker Chenoa Coviare leads the way, as she was an All-Big Sky Conference first teamer last year. The only other returning starter is senior outside hitter Jacque Brown, who averaged 1.35 kills per set last season. EWU was competitive against Pac-10 opponents last year, taking a set on the road against Arizona and reaching 20 points in five out of nine sets against Oregon, California, and Washington State. This year EWU was voted fourth in the Big Sky preseason coaches poll. Head Coach Miles Kydd is in his third season at the helm.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Huskies hold a significant lead in the series, having faced Eastern numerous times in the program's early days. Washington leads the all-time series 16-3, but the Eagles actually own the last win in the series. Eastern defeated Washington 3-1 back in 1998 in Seattle.
HUSKIES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Huskies open the season ranked in the Top-10 in both preseason polls. The AVCA coaches poll has the Dawgs coming in at No. 8, the second-highest Pac-10 team behind No. 4 Stanford. Volleyball Magazine places the Huskies 10th, trailing No. 5 Stanford and No. 9 California. Penn State is the top-ranked team in both polls, but there is a lot of disagreement after that. In the AVCA, the top-five proceeds No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Stanford, and No. 5 Hawai'i. Volleyball Magazine puts Texas second, Hawai'i third, Nebraska fourth, and Stanford fifth. In the AVCA poll, seven Pac-10 teams are ranked, easily the most of any conference, leading the four from the Big Ten.
