Cougs looks for big wins to build tournament resume

Brett Gleason Evergreen Volleyball reporter

The Washington State University volleyball team follows up their emotional weekend at home with a trip to the desert.

Sitting at 59th in RPI following last weekend, which included a win over No. 17 Utah in RPI, the Cougars face two opponents this week, which could bolster their tournament resume.

The Cougars (16-9, 3-9) travel this week to take on Arizona State (15-9, 4-8) and Arizona (16-8, 6-6), both for the second time this season.

The matches against ASU today at 7:30 p.m. and Arizona tomorrow at 7 p.m. will both be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

WSU’s second half of the Pac-12 conference schedule began last weekend and the team has already matched their total number of conference wins from last season.

The last time these teams met in in mid-October the Cougars split the series, taking down Arizona State, then ranked No. 16, and losing to Arizona.

Freshman Kyra Holt, who this Monday was named Pac-12 Freshman Player of the Week for the second time this year, leads the Cougars offensively. Holt has recorded 369 kills while hitting .251.

Junior Ver’Leea Hardaway and Jaicee Harris follow Holt with 222 and 219 kills respectively. Hardaway leads the team in hitting percentage at .364.

The Cougars currently find themselves at third in the conference in service aces, a product of Head Coach Jen Greeny’s focus on aggressive serving this season. Holt is currently landing 0.34 service aces per set, good for fifth best in the Pac-12.

Sitting firmly on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament in December, the Cougars need wins where they can find them in conference play to make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2009.