Volleyball team set for season

The Weber State University Volleyball Team is ready for their upcoming season with nearly every senior returning and a set schedule for the season. The Wildcats have a full roster, only losing two seniors from last year, with seven seniors returning for this season. Head Coach Al Givens finished his 16th season last year, coaching the 'Cats to a 21-13 overall record and a 9-7 record in Big Sky play. The 21 wins gained by the Wildcats is the highest total since 1988 and the sixth time in WSU history the team has achieved 20 wins in a season. "I really feel good about the season," Givens said. "We had an opportunity to make a nice run there at the end. Won 7 out of our last 9 matches, made a nice run in the Big Sky Tournament. We over-came some diversity and different things. They're a great group of women that work hard every day and put their best effort out on the court." Last year's team finished fifth in regular season play and went on to compete in the Big Sky Tournament for the fourth straight season, where they defeated the University of Montana in the first round, then fell to league champion Eastern Washington University in the semifinals. Returning senior Amy Dunford Fackrell said she had hoped for the team to do better at the end of the season. "I think that we were all a little disappointed because we were hoping to do better," Fackrell said. "At the same time, all of us that are returning are planning on making up for that this season." Senior and this year's captain Jenna Leggat said she thought the team finished pretty well. "We could have gone further than we did. I think we all felt that we could have gone further with the caliber of team we had but I think where we ended up was good," Leggat said. Chelsea Randall is among the seven returning seniors. Randall is ranked in the WSU career top ten in four categories and earned Second Team All-Big Sky Honors last season. The other returning seniors are Caitlyn Anderson, Amy Fackrell, Jenna Leggat, and Jocilyn Taylor. They will also be joined by letter winners Kim Lissinna and Katie Mario. "We're excited about this year's team," Givens said. "We have seven returning seniors which is the most experienced team we've had in a while, and I think they're ready for [the] season to start up." The Lady 'Cats will begin their season the weekend of Aug. 28, when they will host the Best Western Canyon Pines Weber State Invitational. Utah State University and Utah Valley University will compete against the Wildcats in WSU's first home tournament for volleyball in four years. Another drought-breaking game will take place on Sept. 7 when Washington State University will compete against the Wildcats in the Swenson Gym as the first Pac-10 team to visit WSU since 1995. Leggat said she thinks this year's team is looking to go farther into the Big Sky Championships. "Together we are really looking to win the Big Sky," Leggat said, "to win the season and finish on top. We have a lot of seniors and we have high hopes for all of us, so we should do pretty well." Before starting in conference play, WSU will also take on the University of Utah, Southern Utah University, and Seattle State University. "We have an extremely strong pre-season schedule," Givens said, "that will provide some great opportunities and challenges that will prepare us for the Big Sky Conference." Fackrell said she thinks the team's built-in chemistry will help them next season. "We have five seniors and we've all been together for a few years now. So we have a lot of chemistry and we're hoping to finally portray that on the court and play some of the best volleyball that we've seen in a long time," Fackrell said. The Big Sky Conference season will officially begin Sept. 17 when the Wildcats will travel to take on Northern Colorado University. The Wildcat's season will wrap up on Nov. 21 with a home game against Montana State University. The Championships will be held Nov. 27-28 in Cheney, Washington.