The Washington State University volleyball team begins their 2011 campaign this weekend in Seattle with the Seattle University Invitational. The team will play three games total: Santa Clara on Friday at 1 p.m. and Eastern Washington and Seattle University on Saturday at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.

The Cougs finished last year with a record of 6-22 and a Pacific-10 Conference record of 0-18. This year, the conference becomes the Pacific-12 Conference, welcoming the Utah and Colorado teams to the Conference of Champions.

This year's WSU team features a new coaching staff and 11 of 16 players that are new to the program. Head Coach Jen Greeny hopes to lead her young team through a bounce-back year, led by the team's lone senior Meagan Ganzer.

The team is excited to get back out on the court and see what they have this year. Having only played themselves so far and having such a new team, they do not quite know what they have yet.

“A little nervous, little edgy, but in a good way,” Ganzer said. “If I wasn’t nervous, that would be a bad sign, or if I was a little too cool and collected and cocky about it. I’m very excited.”

Starting off a season on the road doesn’t seem to be a problem for the team either.

“I almost prefer it,” Ganzer said. “You’re not too comfortable then. When you’re at home, it’s comfortable, it’s your own area. If you get out on the road, you get used to it. I think it’ll be good to get that experience first before experiencing what a home game is like.”

You can follow the weekend's action, along with every other WSU away game this year, on the radio at 1150 AM or 104.3 FM.