As most Cougs prepare for summer vacation and look forward to sleeping in every day, the WSU volleyball team is prepping for its summer training. This includes 6:45 a.m. start times and almost two hours of sprints, stairs and weightlifting.

After finishing spring training, the volleyball players will get a few weeks off for finals and time to recoup before they dive into summer workouts along with their summer session classes.

“We’re running stairs out in Martin Stadium, we’re doing sprints, half-gassers, recoils, it’s really hard,” senior setter Nicole Rigoni said. “We have a really hard summer ahead of us. Get in the gym, get some extra reps and get ready for the season.”

Toward the end of July, the volleyball team will have four days of break before they return to campus. The team will then have two-a-day practices up until two weeks before the season starts.

Along with training, the Cougars are also planning summer volleyball camps for high schoolers and younger players. Registration is now open for the camps, which are hosted by Head Coach Jen Greeny. Rigoni and her teammates will also help with these camps as instructors. There will be four camps held throughout June and July, including Youth Camp, Intermediate Camp, Individual All-Skills Camp and a High School Team Camp/Tournament.

“It’s really fun and the campers are great,” Rigoni said. “They have really great high energy and they keep you going because at that point in summer, we’re all starting to get a little tired, but with all their energy and excitement, it really helps us keep going.”

Rigoni said for her senior year, her main goal is to be Pac-12 Champions and go all the way to the NCAA Championship. To assist her in this feat, the WSU volleyball team will welcome four freshmen and one transfer from Iowa to the team for the 2017 season. The new members will also join WSU volleyball for summer workouts to start their integration process.

“It is a grind. But when you have such a great team, it’s not that hard,” Rigoni said. “Everyone supports each other, and we all want each other to do well. This team is going to be a lot different from the one you saw last season.”