WSU volleyball (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12) hosts a couple of teams from California but it is not the thing at the front of the player’s minds. 

Following a 2-0 weekend where the Cougs got a huge five-set victory over Arizona and a clean sweep of Arizona State, assistant coach Burdette Greeny took to social media to address a personal issue. 

Greeny announced that he has cancer and will start chemotherapy on Monday but will continue to coach the team for the rest of the year, according to WSU Volleyball’s Twitter. 

His strength is extraordinarily admirable and the team will be playing for him for the rest of the year. 

Following her performances against the Arizona teams, middle blocker Magda Jehlarova was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week for the second time this season. Over the weekend, she averaged 1.50 blocks per set alongside 1.88 kills per set. 

It is the seventh time the senior has earned the honor over the course of her time at WSU, pointing to her consistently on both sides of the ball for the Cougs. 

The upcoming matchup for the Cougs will be a rematch against one of the best teams in the nation in the Stanford Cardinal (14-4, 9-1) on Friday. 

In the early season matchup between the two teams, the Cougs went on the road and fell 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23). It was a match that could have easily gone five sets and been a Coug offense, but a late collapse in the fourth set saw the Cardinal squeak out the win. 

Being in front of the home Wazzu crowd could be the x-factor that the team could not find in Stanford. If any team can upset a team as dominant as Stanford, it would be the Crimson and Gray, who already have a home upset under their belt against Oregon. 

Next up, WSU plays California on Sunday. The Golden Bears (7-13, 0-10) should be easy pickings for the Cougs, as they won on the road 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-12) earlier this season. 

That being said, no team in the Pac-12 is an easy win and the team cannot overlook the Golden Bears if they want to come away from the weekend with at least one win. 

Players to look out for: 

Jehlarova – The Cougs will need her defense and offense to both show up against Stanford if they hope to win. Despite winning Pac-12 defensive player of the week, she had her weakest offensive showing on Friday against Arizona. 

Argentina Ung – Ung has been the most impressive player over the course of this season. Her play is the key to the flow of the offense and if she feels confident, that means the team is playing well.

Karly Basham – Basham has several key double-digit dig games and she is the vocal leader of the team. When her teammates are energized she plays better, if you can hear her in the crowd that means the Cougs are winning.