WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- With nary a senior on its roster, the Whitman College women’s volleyball team tips off its fall 2005 campaign later this week at a five-team invitational in Tacoma, Wash.
The youthful Missionaries, led by a trio of talented juniors, open their season Friday with a pair of matches at the University of Puget Sound Invitational. Whitman plays Iowa's Loras College at 11 a.m. and then squares off with the host squad at 3 p.m. Two more matches follow on Saturday.
Kate Borsato, this fall's team captain, is back for her third season as the Missionary setter. The 5-foot-8 junior averaged 10.57 assists a year ago, which ranked her fourth among Northwest Conference setters. She averaged 10.66 assists in her first season at Whitman, when she earned All-NWC Honorable Mention recognition.
Emily Seider, a 5-10 junior middle blocker, has been a steady presence at the net in her first two seasons. She averaged .87 blocks per game a year ago, which ranked her fifth among the conference leaders. She also collected 2.17 kills per game, and her .262 hitting percentage ranked as the fifth-best number in the NWC.
The third junior is Erin Pounds, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter who hit the floor for 130 digs last season as a reserve. She ranked fourth on the team in total digs.
Leslie Compean, a powerful 6-foot outside hitter, tops a group of eight Whitman sophomores. Last fall in her first college season, she led Whitman in kills with 3.30 per game, which ranked her No. 10 among conference leaders. She was second in digs, averaging 2.78 per game, among her Missionary teammates.
Lydia Hayes, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter, also enjoyed a good rookie season last fall. She led the NWC in service aces, averaging .60 per game, while adding 2.47 kills and 1.18 digs.
Other returning sophomores are Kaelyn Merkel, Kristen Marshall, Christy Irvine, Hayley Hillman, Meg Clark and Laura Chapman.
Head coach Dean Snider, now in his 10th season, expects immediate contributions from both of his two first-year players. Rosa Brey is a 5-foot-10 middle blocker from Bozeman, Mont., who might also see time at outside hitter. Kristan Brown is a 5-foot-9 setter from Reno, Nev.
Snider's assistant coaches this fall are Sharee Coad, who played her college ball at Gonzaga, and Jillian Huber, a four-time all-conference player at Whitman who graduated in the spring of 2004.
Whitman plays its first 11 matches this fall, including its first two NWC opponents, on the road. The Missionaries play their final four non-conference matches at a tournament hosted Sept. 9-10 by Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont, Calif.
Whitman hosts its first home matches on Sept. 23-24 against NWC foes Pacific and Linfield.
The Missionaries, who tied for third place in the NWC two seasons ago, slipped to 5-11 in conference play last fall. In a recent preseason coaches poll, Whitman was picked to place sixth this season, although the voting in that poll had the Missionaries finishing just one point out of fifth place and four points out of fourth.