Peighton De Von
 
It's the start of my junior year and this past weekend was our second tournament of preseason. This was also the first time I've played in my hometown since I left for college. It was interesting getting the chance to show my teammates where I grew up. To say the least, this experience was very bittersweet and humbling. I was able to play in front of the people who pushed me into playing volleyball, my parents, grandparents, very old friends and even some of the refs who used to work my high school and club games. From what I heard from my teammates, they really enjoyed Spokane and what it had to offer.
 
As for the volleyball portion of things, we didn't get the result we wanted but we are definitely a step closer than we were last weekend to where we want to be. We are such a young team, and we are still trying to fit the pieces together especially with the different lineups that coach Lee has tried. I think we grew so much more this past weekend with the caliber of teams we were up against. This next weekend will be a test of our teams' heart and trust, so I am excited to get back on the road. Go Pack!

Sam Hayward

We spent this past weekend in Spokane, Wash. playing in a tournament hosted by Gonzaga. It was nice being back in my home state, and seeing some of the familiar places while I was in town. I was excited to see my family and friends that drove a few hours to come see me play. It was very convenient that we stayed within walking distance from campus because on the first night after dinner we were able to walk right to the gym and get a practice in before our big weekend. 

We started off pretty strong Saturday morning after we took the first set from Arizona State, but then we dropped three close sets. Then later that day we faced Portland State, and had a tough match as we were still trying to figure out some missing pieces to our game. Our last match was against Gonzaga and they brought in a huge crowd. The game was fun because it was fueled by energy from the crowd, but we still struggle a little to finish out some close sets. This weekend in preseason served as a very good learning experience for what we need to focus on for our upcoming matches.