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Volleyball team prepares for WAC play
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Boise State volleyball shifts the focus from preseason to conference play this week. The Broncos came out on top during preseason play with a 4-3 record. The Broncos had a slow start winning every other game, however they managed to execute two very important wins in Texas versus NCAA qualifying teams University of Georgia and Texas Tech.
The Broncos bussed to Pocatello on Sept. 14 and handled the Bengals in three games, beating Idaho State in Pocatello for the first time in 11 years.
The team traveled to Hawaii for a match last night to open conference play against University of Hawaii.
Last season the Rainbow Wahine finished the season with a record of 30-1, winning the Western Athletic Conference tournament and advancing to NCAA. Hawaii’s .968 winning percentage was the best in the country. The Wahine will be returning all seven starters this season, and are favored in the WAC preseason coaches poll to take the conference again.
The Broncos will leave Hawaii to compete against San Jose State Sept. 24. San Jose finished the 2004 season with a 15-13 overall record, going 1-1 with the Broncos. This season the Spartans will have a fairly new team with a majority of underclassmen, returning only seven letter winners from last year.
Utah State, New Mexico State, and Idaho are the newest additions to the WAC. Utah State joined the WAC from the Big West. Last season the Aggies had a losing record of 9-18. The Aggies attribute the cause of the losses to the absence of six players who missed a combined 76 matches and 300 games.
This season Utah State will have six top returnees with just one key loss.
New Mexico State finished the 2004 season with a 30-3 record breaking the school record for winning percentage (.909) and service aces (253). The Aggies completed the second consecutive undefeated conference season, going 15-0 in the Sun Belt and winning the conference tournament for the second straight year. New Mexico State entered the WAC with a 36-match winning streak over conference opponents dating back to the 2002 season.
Idaho joined the WAC from the Big West with a 17-13 record last season. The Vandals advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2004 for the second consecutive season with an at-large bid. UI will return three top players and will lose two, including a starting setter and captain from the 2004 season.
Boise State volleyball will also be competing against WAC veterans Fresno State, Nevada, and Louisiana Tech. Fresno State wrapped up its 2004 season by advancing to the WAC semifinals for the third time in four years. The Bulldogs finished the 2004 season with an over all record of 15-13 going 2-1 with the Broncos. This season Fresno will return with five upper classmen, and will be losing three key players.
Nevada is ranked second in a preseason coach’s poll for conference play after finishing last season with an overall record of 21-10 going 0-2 with the Broncos. The Wolf Pack has participated in the NCAA tournament four of the last seven years, last season they were one of three teams in the schools history to break 20 wins.
Louisiana Tech will be returning three starters this year from the 2004 season. The Bulldogs had an overall record of 6-30 last season and are ranked 9th in the preseason poll. This team will be rebuilding as they add eight new players for the 2005 season.
Sara Johnson / Sports Writer