To celebrate the prolific success of the coaching staff and players of WSU volleyball, the team held a banquet Friday. 

Headlining the celebration was that of the team having made the seventh-straight NCAA tournament under head coach Jen Greeny, as well as a final official farewell to graduating outside hitter Laura Jansen. 

The banquet started with Jen Greeny thanking all in attendance as well as shouting out every member both in front and behind the scenes for their hard work over the course of the 2022 season. 

Jen also said the new floor of Bohler Gym has made progress despite being three weeks behind schedule.

Then, assistant head coach Burdette Greeny came to the podium to list several accomplishments that members of the 2022 team achieved during the season. The main focus of attention during this time was Magda Jehlarova, who has worked her way on the list of several all-time WSU volleyball records.

Notably, she holds the position of second most all-time in career blocks. Also, she was a 2022 All-American and First-team All-Pac-12 Conference player. She was not alone in receiving accolades though. 

Jansen and Katy Ryan were All-Pac-12 Honorable Mentions. Along with Jehlarova on the First Team was Pia Timmer, another Coug making several appearances on all-time lists. 

Once Burdette finished talking about specific stats and accolades the players had accomplished in 2022, the focus shifted to be on Jansen, the star transfer who graduates WSU at the end of the semester and will be done playing for the crimson and gray.

“I would like to thank the players and everyone on the team. The coaching staff really does take the time to know the players beyond volleyball and make them love the game again,” Jansen said. 

The highlight of her speech was her telling the story of the first phone call with Burdette when she entered the transfer portal. The phone call lasted over an hour and a half. Instead of talking about her strengths in volleyball, Burdette was more interested in talking about everything other than volleyball, she said. 

Despite the departure of Jansen inbound, the banquet saw the official arrival of another transfer hitter that will enter the fold in 2023: Iman Isanovic.

In his speech to the crowd, Burdette said that the team remains ready for the upcoming season and he and the staff and players cannot wait to begin preparing for the new year.