The 2023 Beaver Volleyball season gets underway tomorrow, August 17 on the road at Cowley College at 6:30 PM. The team finished 7-22 overall and 0-16 in conference play last season in Head Volleyball Coach Brittany Urenda inaugural season.
Last season, the team defeated Lamar, Fort Scott, and Independence while taking conference opponents Barton and Cloud County to five sets. The team competed in several spring matches and scrimmages at Fort Hays State, Kansas Wesleyan, Kansas City Kansas Community College, and wrapping up their spring season against Hutchinson.
"I just hope we continue to play together the way that we have been. Practices have been competitive, and the Butler scrimmages were a good test to see who works well and who does not fit perfectly together, said Coach Urenda. "I think going into Cowley and using it as a learning experience as both teams are really young. It should be a good test for both of us."
The Beavers return Dixie Huffaker, Delaney Roberts, and Madison Tolle from last year's team. Sophomore Valeria Perez has returned after sitting out last season with an injury redshirt. Alyssa Hunter and Emily Ryan joined the team in the spring season and will round out the sophomore class for Pratt.
"The sophomore classes leadership has shown not only on the court, but also outside of volleyball in helping the freshman navigate college in general," said Coach Urenda. "They have definitely let them know that just how competitive practice is they will not have an off game on our side of the conference. They have informed them that people and teams do not have bad days in this conference. They have mentally prepared them and made sure practices are competitive so that the freshman are prepared."
There will be 14 brand new volleyball players suited for Pratt tomorrow night at Cowley College. This is one of the largest incoming classes the volleyball program has seen. Players as far away as the Dominican Republic, to Oklahoma, and here in Kansas are a part of this first-year class.
"We will have a lot of freshmen on the court, and we will be young. We are going to make first-year mistakes and that is okay as I would rather them happen early in the season," said Coach Urenda. "We do have a big class, but all of those freshmen are here and ready to play. They are ready to change the stigma of Pratt volleyball.
The team was picked ninth in the Jayhawk Conference West preseason. Their opening match is a daunting one against the 40-5 Cowley Tigers from a season ago. The Tigers ended their season in the NJCAA Division II Volleyball Championships in the fifth-place match losing 3-2 to Grand Rapids Community College.
"In year's past Cowley has always been a solid unit. Their team is always in sync and their bench understands their role in the game," said Coach Urenda. "I think it will be a good competition as we both have young teams and will probably both make young mistakes and be able to learn from them."
The team will open their home schedule on August 30th by hosting a triangular tournament with Lamar College and Kansas Wesleyan University (JV), before starting conference play at Butler on Saturday, September 2.
"I want this team to focus on becoming a solid unit on the court and not really worrying about what is happening with our opponents, but focusing on what we are doing," said Coach Urenda. "Once we are able to figure those things out, I think we will be pretty hard to beat because of our ability to play scrappy."