Volleyball Holds First Practice of 2015
August 10, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and a finish in the national rankings last season, the Oregon State women's volleyball team held its first two team practices of 2015 on Monday at Gill Coliseum.
The Beavers began with a two-hour practice session at 8 a.m. PT Monday morning, and followed with a second practice at 3:30 p.m. PT.
“The first day of practice went very well,” Oregon State head coach Taras Liskevych said. “These young ladies have come back in very good physical condition, as evidenced by a vertical jump reach test in which nine athletes recorded their personal best performances.”
Monday's practices marked the first of daily scheduled practices through next Thursday, leading up to the Black and Orange Scrimmage on Friday, August 21. The scrimmage, open to the public for free, will be the first OSU athletics event to be held in Gill Coliseum in the fall of 2015.
Following its run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, OSU finished the 2014 season with a 21-13 record and a No. 20 national ranking in the AVCA Coaches Poll. From that team, the Beavers return nine letterwinners, including 2014 Pac-12 and AVCA Regional Freshman of the Year Mary-Kate Marshall among three returning starters.
Of OSU's 30 scheduled regular season games, 18 will be played versus 11 different opponents that finished last season nationally ranked. Additionally, 14 of the Beavers' matches will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
“It was good to see on the first day of practice that our athletes are in great physical shape with great enthusiasm and great attitudes,” Liskevych said. “The best is yet to come.”
The Oregon State volleyball team kicks off the 2015 season with a 7:30 p.m. PT tilt versus Wichita State on Friday, August 28 as part of a tournament in Honolulu. The Beavers will open Pac-12 play with their first home match of the season on Thursday, September 24, as they take on the Oregon Ducks at 7 p.m. PT.
For more information on the Oregon State volleyball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/BeavsVolleyball or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateVolleyball.
