Wolves Kick Off Season in Spokane

8/22/2014 10:25:00 AM

The Wolves Women's Volleyball team opened up their season Thursday (Aug 21) with the first day of matches at the Sports Travel Northwest Invitational in Spokane, Washington. Walla Walla came up short in matches against Lewis & Clark State (25-14, 25-10, 25-12), Westminster College (25-19, 25-10, 25-20) and Montana State University-Northern (25-9, 25-18, 25-22).

"All of our freshman stepped up and played really well for their first college matches" head coach Don Hepker said following the days matches. "Every time we stepped on the court, we improved". The Wolves have eight freshman on the squad, six of whom were in the starting lineup.

Play continued on Friday (Aug 22) as the Wolves dropped to three of their opponents: Montana State University-Western (25-4, 25-22, 17-25), University of Great Falls (25-10, 25-22, 25-8), and Evergreen State College (25-13, 25-12, 25-21).

"This was a great tournament for us to go to" said Hepker after Fridays matches. "We saw a lot of high caliber teams and did a lot of really good things"

Freshmen twins Lexi and Perri Shanko led the team during the tournament in kills and blocks with 26 kills, 7 blocks for Lexi, and 9 blocks for Perri. Lauren Barlow performed well, compiling 25 kills and 6 blocks. Coach Hepker held strong praise for Maria Darling for her play, "Maria led our team… contributing a lot for us on offense as well as defense." Maria finished with 23 kills, 26 digs, and 3 blocks.

Other stats for the tournament include:
Alissa Casey - 25 assists, 5 aces
Sierra Hample - 13 digs
Lindsey Redfield - 33 assists
Michaela Garcia - 15 digs
Natalie Skeoch - 14 kills, 4 blocks
Amanda Preston - 12 digs
Lauren Bosler - 24 assists
Melissa Barton - 6 blocks

Coach Hepker remained optimistic following the early season matches. "We had some mistakes that you won't see us make in a few weeks. We had a chance to play everyone, and got quality play out of our returners, as well as our freshman…. We have a long way to go, but we have the talent to get there."

The Wolves return to action Friday (Aug 28) at 5 pm, as they take on Whitman College in Walla Walla hosted at the Sherwood Athletic Center.

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