Women’s volleyball’s off-season is underway following the West Region semifinals exit in the Division II (DII) Women’s Volleyball tournament, last December. 

This offseason has some importance as it leads to the season that could be the 10th straight year of West Region appearances in the DII Women’s Volleyball tournament.

“It is very exciting to know that we have made a landmark in CWU volleyball history,” sophomore outside hitter Marianna Payne said. “Continuing the legacy is just a feeling that can’t be reciprocated very often.” 

Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Hannah Stires said the team is using this off-season to improve on fundamentals. 

“The biggest thing is breaking down the game back to the fundamentals and focusing on individuals getting better individually and then competing at the end of practice,” Stires said. 

The team is young going into next season, with no seniors and only three juniors. Payne said that she thinks it’s one of their biggest strengths. 

“Personally, I don’t believe that the fact we’re younger than most teams is a challenge for us because we have clearly proven ourselves [by] making it all the way to the semifinals,” Payne said. “A lot of people underestimate us because we may seem inexperienced, but that’s not the case at all.” 

According to Payne, the schedule in the offseason starts off early, at around 4:30 a.m. because the team needs to be at the training room at 5:30 a.m. with practice starting at 6:00 a.m. Payne said her classes take place between 9:00 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. and end the day off with weight training at 3:00 p.m. 

After all of that they are just normal college students, who take care of homework after school and get to bed early so they can do it all again the next day. 

“It just makes it so much more worth it and it reminds us of all the time that we’ve put in [all] off-season,” Stires said. “Like grinding, getting up and going crazy every single day, so that when fall comes in we’re gonna be like we earned this and we’ve been putting in the work.’” 

Last season, the team had a home record of 11-1. Stires said playing at home is almost electric. 

“It’s really fun to go out and put on a show especially because they don’t see the grind behind the scenes,” Stires said. “Let’s go show them why they’re here, it makes it feel like we’re playing for more than just ourselves, we’re obviously playing for our team, but we’re playing for every single person who came out and spent their time to come watch.”