PULLMAN, Wash. – WSU volleyball made eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under former head coach Jen Greeny. However, along with the program changing conferences to the West Coast Conference (WCC), Greeny left following the 2023 season.
To replace the hall-of-fame coach, WSU turned to a first-time head coach in Korey Schroeder, who served as an assistant on the staff during the 2023 season.
Schroeder said the focus of rebuilding the culture is to continue to recruit and develop international talent, something that he feels is no different than recruiting nationally.
“Once they’re over here. They feel a connection with each other, and they want to be cared about, just like any other student-athletes,” Schroeder said. “Certainly, sometimes there’s some cultural differences or differences in coaching, but they want it.”
With all-time program players such as Magda Jehlárová and Pia Timmer graduating, a bulk of the international talent also left the program.
The 2024 roster has just five returning players from the team that made a run to the Sweet 16. Katy Ryan, Weronika Wojdyla, Lucie Blažková, Emma Barbero and Logann Golden.
Wojdyla is from Poland, Blažková is from the Czech Republic, Barbero is from Italy and one new freshman, Italia Bernal, is from Mexico.
While the incoming class has just one international player, Schroeder said the focus will continue to be on finding talent outside of the national scope, as many programs leave that side of recruiting out of things.
For the current season, Schroeder said he relying on getting mass production from his returners who have experience in the NCAA Tournament, especially from Ryan, who is a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference honorable mention.
“I’m very grateful for Katy to have come back and believed in our staff, and really for all five returners to come back for another year,” Schroeder said.
Ryan, a Rathdrum, Idaho, native, said Schroeder sold her on his vision for the program’s future despite 2024 being her final season. He had a plan for the upcoming season and showed an immediate interest in bringing her back to lead the team.
“I think Korey stepped into the role well, even before he was hired. In the month, we didn’t have a coach, but he constantly communicated with me and showed that interest,” she said.
Joining Ryan and the five returners are nine new players between the transfer portal and incoming freshmen.
One of those transfers, Sage Brustad from Eastern Washington, said she knew she wanted to become a Coug the second the transfer portal opened.
“Big props to Korey, his vision of what he wanted is this program and the culture he wanted to build here,” she said. “I really envied that. I think it was special. And then I always, like, loved the atmosphere of WSU and the fans.”
Brustad said she also wanted to increase her level of competition, something the entire program is experiencing but in the opposite direction.
For over 60 years, WSU played in the Pac-12 surrounded by dominant programs like recent national champions Stanford and other successful programs like Oregon, USC and more.
But, for the 2024 season, they are playing as affiliate members of the WCC, a conference that has just two NCAA volleyball championships and has yet to win one since 1986.
Conference realignment is the reason many players transferred, including key contributors like Jasmine Martin and all-conference setter Argentina Ung.
Wojdyla is another player who entered the portal following the conclusion of the season, but eventually, she decided to come back to the program for her final year of eligibility.
“We are super glad she came back. When she put her name in the portal we expected her to find a new program and went into the season without the expectation that we would have her,” Schroeder said. “Super grateful to have her experience as a leader and her experience on the court in her final season, can’t overstate how important she is.”
