The 2024 WSU volleyball season will officially be underway in one hour. In the first match of the season, the Cougs, under new head coach Korey Schroeder, take on Wyoming in the first of three matches this weekend.
Hosted by University of Nebraska at Omaha, four teams are competing in the Omaha Classic, with Houston and Nebraska at Omaha joining the Cougs and Cowboys in the fray.
While the Cougs spent most of the preseason defending their home court in previous years, this season features just one home match before conference play.
“I honestly think it plays to our favor that we are on the road a lot, which forces us together more,” Schroeder said. “So certainly traveling and stuff and the more you can play at home typically play to your advantage. But I think us being on the road is going to allow us to connect a lot these first four weeks.”
Wyoming (0-0) went 22-10 last season, making the National Invitational Volleyball Championship before eventually falling to Montana State in the Great 8 round in five sets. While they are without several of their top offensive producers from last season, the Cowboys brought back two key contributors.
Departing from the team was Tierney Barlow, who transferred to Utah State, and Corin Carruth, who graduated after using all of her collegiate eligibility. While those two accounted for nearly 40% of the kills from 2023, Wyoming did bring back Sarah Holcomb and Rylee Schulz, the two players to look out for heading into this matchup.
Holcomb, a junior middle blocker, led the Moutain West in blocks with 146 last season. Adding 242 kills, she threatens the Cougs new group of middles for 2024. As for Schulz, she is a 2023 All-Mountain West Honorable Mention at outside. Averaging 3.28 kills per set, she finished the season with 397 while hitting .225%.
Friday’s match with be just the third time the programs face off against one another, and the first time since 2016. Effectively the rubber match, WSU lost in 2014 before avenging the loss with a 3-1 win in that 2016 contest.
Heading into the contest and season as a whole, WSU received votes in the national preseason poll but failed to crack the top 25. Wyoming proves to be a test to show if the Cougs are poised to continue the streak of eight straight NCAA Tournament Appearances or if they are more on the level of a potential NIVC bid.
Offensively led by Katy Ryan, a preseason WCC team honoree, the Cougs will show the first glimpse of the new roster featuring nine additions to the five returning players. After a month of practice, the new regime has to put together a scheme to maximize the potential of the overhauled roster.
“In practice, we’re playing around with some different strategies to be able to maximize those individual talents and we’re scheming off of those skills,” Schroeder said.
As the team embarks on a new season, Schroeder said the focus is on maintaining a level head and not letting any individual match define the season.
“How do we react if we say we started the season 5-0? Is our reaction to that and how we approach practice in matches any different than if we start the season 0-5? We know that those first five games certainly are important, but it doesn’t entirely define what our season is,” he said.
