The Wildcats’ volleyball team made huge improvements this season as they are nearing the halfway mark to the 2014 season.

The team’s most notable stride this far is their win against the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes on Sept. 27, in the Ted Wilson Gymnasium.

“Winning the match proved to the girls that we can compete with the best teams in the conference,” head coach Shane Kimura said.

Pacific Lutheran University has been the reigning Northwest Conference champions for the past three years.
“The support from the crowd really fueled the team’s energy and we responded well to it,” Kimura said.

Moving past the big win, Kimura hopes to improve ball control as well as consistency on an individual and team level.

Kimura also wants to work on serving and passing, minimizing errors, not giving away points and blocking, which Kimura said was great at the match against Pacific Lutheran University.

Standout players on the team so far include freshmen Jamie Talbo and Danielle Spirlin as well as junior Courtney Uyeda and senior Kailana Ritte-Camara.

Uyeda and Ritte-Camara have also filled leadership roles and have led the team to successful wins.

With more players on the team this year it has allowed for Kimura to put different players in for the same position.

“We have more balance and depth on the team this year,” Kimura said.

As the season has been in full swing since August, some players have accumulated injuries.

“We are being smart about how we practice and are making sure the girls take care of their body when we aren’t practicing,” Kimura said. “We tell players to be the best you can be when you’re playing.”

Playing the four teams that the team played in Texas helped get them ready for conference play.

“The Texas trip helped us figure out a strong lineup going into conference play,” Kimura said.

Although the Wildcats didn’t win any of the four games, “we learned a lot and it showed us what we need to adjust going into the rest of the season,” Kimura said.

This past weekend the team trumped the Whitman College missionaries on Friday, Oct. 3, but fell short of a win against the Whitworth University pirates.

Kimura has high hopes for the rest of the season in light of the team’s improvements and their win against Pacific Lutheran University.

“We have to go out ready to compete … if you don’t go out and compete you’re going to get beat,” Kimura said.

The Wildcats’ next match is on Oct. 10 against local rival George Fox University.