Following its first conference loss of the season against No. 20 University of Oregon last weekend, freshman defensive specialist and libero Alexis Dirige to discuss her first season playing for the Cougars and preview how the WSU women’s volleyball team expects to come back stronger than ever as it returns for a pair of Homecoming Week matches.

“In the big picture, we were going to have this loss eventually,” Dirige said. “You can’t go without a loss, that’s just unrealistic. It sucks … the way we loss, if we had lost while putting up a fight, they would have deserved to win. Hitting, passing, blocking, everything that could have gone wrong in that game, went wrong for us … This was a good wake up call for us. We were getting a little content, we were cruising and that’s just not going to work in the Pac-12. We need to get serious and come back stronger.”

This weekend, the 13th-ranked Cougars (15-3, 5-1) are facing the University of Colorado (10-6, 2-4) and No. 21 University of Utah (13-4, 4-2) with home court advantage in hand at Bohler Gym.

Rather than be discouraged by losing its grip on sole possession of first place in the Pac-12, WSU is motivated to come back with a vengeance this weekend against the Buffaloes and Utes.

“I think this weekend will be a good test of our team and what we’re about,” Dirige said. “The Oregon game has motivated us to want to be better in everything: we’re eating better, we’re sleeping better and just performing better altogether. We’re not satisfied with how we played. Now we are motivated to come back stronger this weekend.”

Dirige is always seen with smile on her face, on and off the court. Her positive attitude is infectious and makes a real difference in a fast-paced, tension-filled sport like volleyball.

“It’s very hard to keep an upbeat attitude in volleyball,” Dirige said. “Before college, I always tried to be positive – you make a mistake and you get over it. Coming here, it was really hard for me to do that. Getting used to the pace of the game was fairly difficult for me, but I try to stay confident. My coaches kept reminding me that it’s okay, I’m okay, you don’t have to be sad about a mistake, you just let it go … My teammates really help me with that, and I know they aren’t going to get mad at me for making a mistake. I know other people struggle with it too, so if I can keep myself confident, then other people can stay confident and positive as well.”

With good work comes satisfaction and pride in one’s efforts. Dirige works hard for her team as a defensive specialist. The libero is known as the best passer and quickest setter on the team and is responsible for digging hard hits from the opponent.

“I think something I really enjoy is when I get a really good dig and my teammates kill it,” Dirige said. “I can’t explain the feeling, but it’s a team effort. Even though I don’t get the kill, I helped. I like the team aspect of the sport, you need everyone and you bring your teammates up. I get an adrenaline rush when I’m waiting for a ball to come to me and it does. I love that we cheer and there’s so much energy.”

Dirige has always had a passion for the sport from a young age, and was a defensive specialist long before her career at WSU.

“I started playing volleyball in third grade. I started playing on my own club team,” Dirige said. “My sisters all played volleyball. I have four sisters, and I watched them play growing up and I couldn’t wait to play, too. I think I was 13 and I joined a club team. Being my height, I knew I was never going to be a hitter. But being on a more competitive team helped me realize that I’m going to be a passer.”

Dirige tries to showcase her talent by starting for a nationally-ranked team as a freshman and using her teammates to work toward achieving her personal goals.

“Coming here, my personal goal was to be libero for this team as a freshman,” Dirige said. “So far, I’ve achieved that goal. A personal goal for me now would be to win a Pac-12 title for myself, like (Pac-12) Player of the Week. I also want to be a leader for my team, which is hard as a freshman, trying to lead and direct seniors. Being a freshman, but also being reliable, really helps control the back row.”

Dirige and her teammates are close friends on and off the court. She spoke about what she does in her free time and her studies at WSU.

“If I have any, I like to get my nails done,” Dirige said. “I like to work out for fun, and hang with my teammates, go get lunch with them. We always hang out. Not a lot of us have many friends outside of volleyball, so we do everything together. I’m currently studying kinesiology and eventually I’d like to minor in nutrition. I’d like to be a personal trainer, stay in sports.”

Dirige is excited to play in an authentic homecoming atmosphere in Bohler Gym this weekend, and preparing to showcase a return of good volleyball to Pullman to alumni and students.

“The game against Stanford was so fun, that was my first home conference game,” Dirige said. “The coaches were saying how that’s how it was when they used to play, when they were really good. The support from everyone really helps, it gets us excited. I want Bohler to be packed.”