Despite having to spread out and not having the ability to allow everyone on the court at the same time, the women’s volleyball team has been training hard. Head coach Mario Andaya said they have done a lot of skill work and volleyball fundamentals. 

Now that CWU is testing for COVID-19 every week, they are able to prepare for a Greater Northwest Atlantic Conference championship season.

Andaya said the long offseason has been in their benefit for the younger players to take the opportunity to get better and get them working alongside the upperclassmen.  

“We’ve been training for a good three to four solid weeks and now we’re going to let our players loose,” Andaya said. 

Andaya said the team is staying in the moment and taking it day by day because with COVID-19 you’re never guaranteed anything. He said they are locked in on competing and doing their absolute best once games start. 

Senior Kylee Yamashita said it’s been a long time coming and everyone is very excited to work out. She also said that all their hard work is going to pay off. 

“We’re in the gym for hours a day, in the weight room, training room, it was both mentally and physically exhausting but that also gave us the opportunity to lean on each other and struggle together,” Yamashita said. 

Senior Leanna Shymanski said they learned how to work through adversity together. 

“We were also able to be in small groups outside of the gym and continue to get to know each other better on another level. It has really shown on the court,” Shymanski said. 

Yamashita said her goal is to make the most out of this spring and next fall and to live in the moment every single day and realize that being able to play is a blessing. She said she will not be taking her opportunities for granted. 

Shymanski said the team is driven by competing and improving individually in order to improve as a whole unit. 

“As a team, our goal is to just be us and to fall back on our training. We have been training in the gym for hours and whenever we might get into a situation where we feel uncomfortable, we can fall back on all the things we have been doing day in and day out,” Yamashita said. 

The next women’s volleyball games are set for April 9 against Western Oregon University and April 11 against the University of Alaska Anchorage.