The 2017 season for the Pacific University team volleyball is underway as head coach Kip Yoshimura and his team look to redeem themselves after a 14-12 season, with an 8-8 overall conference record.
Finishing fifth in the conference last season, Yoshimura believes they have a good set of returners for the Boxers and some new faces to help get where they want to be.
“I think we have a great core of returners that haven’t seen the court a lot in the past that we know are going to help us out throughout the season,” Yoshimura said. “I think the biggest challenge is trying to get everyone on the same page with some new coaches and a handful of new players.”
As for the team’s strongest points right now, Yoshimura says just how talented and skilled his players are. He believes they are perfect fits for his team and also the university.
“All of my athletes came for academics first, “Yoshimura said. “We sometimes forget that when were in the middle of practice, but they work real hard in practice and as soon as they are done in practice, I know they work real hard in the classroom. I think our strengths are definitely that everyone knows who they are and what we are doing here at division three athletics.”
After finishing in the middle of the conference last season and coming off a hot start in the 2017 season , Yoshimura knows anybody is beatable in the conference. Whether it is the bottom team of the conference or the top, it can be anyone’s game in the Northwest Conference.
“We just have to be consistent,” Yoshimura said. “We can’t let teams go on runs and have teams get three to four points at a time. We have to let them earn it and we have to go on our point runs as well.”
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