OGDEN — With summer coming to close, a new season is dawning for the Weber State University volleyball team.
Led by six returning players and seven newcomers, the Wildcats will get their 2012 season under way on Friday in Logan in the five-team Utah State Invitational.
First serve for Weber State is set for 4:30 p.m. at the Smith Spectrum on the campus of Utah State University.
"We are excited to get this season started," Weber State coach Tom Peterson. "This is what we have been looking forward to since two-a-days started. We want and we need to compare ourselves against other teams, so we can see where our strengths and weaknesses are."
Among the Wildcats’ returning players is senior setter Caitlin Penrod, who averaged 7.81 assists per set last year, and was one of the team’s top blockers.
Weber State returns two of its top three point scorers, with junior Briana Wilms (2.03 kills per set, 95 total blocks) and senior Dama Cox (1.74 kills per set, 77 total blocks) back on the court for the Purple and White.
Cox was the 2011 Big Sky Conference newcomer of the year.
Also returning is junior outside hitter Shane (Langston) Burgin, junior libero/outside hitter Piper Wahlin and sophomore defensive specialist McKay Tarbox.
"We have the talent in our gym to make it an exciting season," Peterson said. "We have to mature quickly in several areas for us to be a good team compared to other more seasoned teams."
Weber State will feature seven new faces on the court this season, with middle blocker Audrey Gee and outsider hitter Elysse Virden set to make their debuts for the Purple and White after sitting out last season as freshmen.
The Wildcats brought in five new players, four of whom transferred to Weber State, and Whitney Hunt, a true freshman setter signee from Amarillo, Texas.
"We have added three players to our roster who can hit hard and that will help our offense this year," Peterson said. "We also added a player who will help us on defense and serve-receive. Our true freshman setter is going to be a good, and the rest of us are better and more mature than last year.
"All-in-all, I think we will be considerably better than last season. We seem to have good team chemistry, which may be the one ingredient that will help us win some of the tough matches as we sincerely pull for each other to do well. Team cohesion can be a big factor in a team sport such as volleyball."
The newcomers include two players, senior libero Laurel Bodily and redshirt-freshman outside hitter Rebecca Fuchs, who transferred in the spring and were able to spend the spring practice season integrating with the team.
Bodily played her first three seasons at Utah State, and will make her official Wildcat debut on the same court she played on earlier in her career. Fuchs joined Weber State after spending the fall of her freshman year at Utah.
Also transferring to Ogden are Mariah Katoa, who redshirted as a freshman at Brigham Young University, and Audrey Biggs, who spent her freshman season playing for Wichita State.
"We have to be able to pass well so that we can take advantage of our fast offense that we are trying to run," Peterson said. "I look forward to being very competitive in our conference this season, especially if we can serve and serve-receive at a decent level of play."
Weber State will played its first 12 matches away from home, including three tournaments and a road trip to in-state rival Utah Valley during the opening three weeks of the season.
After the Wildcats take on Portland in their season opener, they will face in-state rivals Utah (noon) and Utah State (7:30 p.m.) in their second and third matches at the Utah State Invite.
Southern Utah will also compete in the tournament, but will not play the Wildcats now that the two teams are conference opponents in the Big Sky.
Weber State will also travel to Pullman, Wash., to take part in the Cougar Challenge hosted by Washington State, and Hammond, La., as part of the Southeastern Lion Classic.
The Wildcats’ 2012 home debut will also be their Big Sky opener against SUU, which will be making its Big Sky debut.
"I hope to see our faster offense being effective (early on)," Peterson said. "We are taking a chance by trying to be very fast to the pins. We have to be more precise in our passing and ball control. Watch for the faster balls set out side.
"The other system to watch for is that of our swing blocking system. We are using what we are calling a ‘chicken wing’ swing blocking system, where we swing our arms while blocking balls that are not just in front of where the blocker is starting. We don’t take a full swing block, but rather a cut-off swing where the arms don’t straighten out. That’s why we call it a ‘chicken wing block.’ "
The ’Cats’ blocking was one of the strongest improvements the team made last season, with the team averaging 2.84 blocks per set.
"We will win by committee this year and we consider any individual accolades as team recognition or team awards," Peterson said.
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