The Kansas State volleyball team begins its 2010 season Friday afternoon in Honolulu as it makes an appearance in the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational.
With nine freshmen on the squad and just two upperclassmen, the young Wildcats face an early test as they get set to meet three AVCA preseason Top 25 teams in just three days.
That first test comes Friday against No. 16 UCLA at 10 p.m. local time.
However early challenges are something KSU coach Suzie Fritz said she is comfortable enduring.
"We got an enormous amount done in two-and-half weeks prior to this tournament, but there is still a lot to be done," the 10th-year coach said Tuesday. "But there is still a lot of work to be done.
"I think what we are trying to get accomplished is to use this as a gauge to see where this team is at and try to figure out where we are good, and where we have to make improvements to compete against really good volleyball teams."
So that's exactly what her team is doing. Tuesday evening, her team loaded a bus for Kansas City en route to catch a flight to Honolulu on Wednesday morning. Awaiting them in Hawaii are three top-25 ranked teams, including No. 5 Hawaii, a team the
Wildcats line up against on Saturday.
"I think it's great to play tough teams right off the bat," senior outside hitter JuliAnne Chisholm said. "If we ease ourselves into it, or play easier competitors in the beginning, we don't really get what's in store with the Big 12."
On Friday UCLA will certainly provide that tough early test for this KSU team. The Bruins advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2009 before falling in upset fashion to Baylor in four sets.The Bruins finished the 2009 season with an impressive 24-9 record.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, completed their 2009 campaign with an overall record of 12-18 and a 6-14 record in the Big 12.
But with a competitive fall camp complete, Fritz says she believes this team is prepared for what the weekend will bring to her team.
"I feel like we are as well prepared as we can expect to be at this point," Fritz said.
During the three-match weekend, Fritz will be leaning heavily on the service of Chisholm. The veteran from Hillsboro led the team with 352 kills last season, 41 more than second-leading attacker Kelsey Chipman.
Meanwhile senior libero Lauren Mathewson will look to slow down returning UCLA All-Pac 10 outside hitter Dicey McGraw. Mcgraw played in all 33 matches last season, totaling a team-high 358 kills, good for 3.11 per set, while also ranking in the top 5 in three other offensive categories.
It will be an opportunity for not only Mathewson to gauge where she is at during this portion of the season, but also her entire team.
"We have worked on a lot of things this weekend, so it would be nice to be able to see some results and some things that we have been working on and see that we have made some progress," Mathewson said. "I would like show Suzie and the coaches that we have made some improvements in the preseason."
The Wildcats face San Diego on Sunday at 8 p.m. to conclude the tournament before returning home to face South Dakota in their home opener on Sept. 1.
Photo- The Manhattan Mercury
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