WVB Looks to Build Off Last Season With New Additions
By Francisco Claudio
The Westcliff women's volleyball program is rebuilding as head coach Andrew Cole works to assemble a team with a strong foundation and potential for growth.
Last year was the first season under head coach Cole for the Warriors. They finished with an 11-13 overall record and a 10-10 record in the Cal Pac but were eliminated in the opening round of the conference tournament against Embry-Riddle.
There were many Warriors who were playing in their last season and graduated last May, so there will be lots of new faces for this upcoming season.
This introduces an element of excitement as the new team starts to establish its own culture and develop chemistry throughout the year.
We asked coach Cole what he's looking for in the new additions this season: "Finding a way to be uplifting to a person or people every day. Learning to adapt better in real-time. The quicker we become comfortable with talking on the court to one another, the more they will show their talents.
"Competitive and nice student-athletes. This is a program that is striving to be known for working hard to keep the ball off the fall on our side."
Coach Cole will be relying a lot on the leadership and experience of the only returners, Ella Beck and Sam Swanson.
Beck is back at Westcliff after playing all 24 games last season and is aiming to continue improving her game. Sam Swanson played 23 games last season, ranked second in receptions with 371, and fourth in digs with 193 for the season.
Beck is a Cal Pac Champions of Character winner and an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Both Beck and Swanson played many competitive sets last year as consistent rotational players.
The new members arrive at Westcliff from various locations and cultures, bringing fresh energy to the young team.
Amanda Ferreira was a Warrior last season and played for the women's beach volleyball team, but this will be her debut season on the indoor courts. Ferreira is a 5'8 setter from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Samantha Carelock is a 5'11 right-side player coming over from Vacaville, California.
Karen Salazar is a 5'7 outside hitter/defensive specialist coming over from the neighboring city of Santa Ana.
Faith Alvior is a 5'6 libero/defensive specialist coming over from the island of Maui in Hawai'i.
Telesia McGill is a 5'4 libero/defensive specialist coming over from San Antonio, Texas.
Monique Fonoti is an outside hitter freshman coming over from Anchorage, Alaska.
Sophia Bautista is a 5'3 libero coming over from Ontario, California.
"Learning how to keep them motivated for practice every day is always important," explained coach Cole. "The expectations are a question asked to the team during preseason. As coaches, we are enablers and facilitate how each individual and the team defines success. Our experience should guide the student-athletes toward the unknown of what derives their expectations."
The Warriors will start their first weekend of competition by playing 4 matches in two days at Hope International University. They will play Northwest (WA), Oregon Tech, Arizona Christian, and Southern Oregon.
The conference schedule will kick off in October with the first game taking the Warriors on the road against UC Merced. Westcliff will play their first home conference game against La Sierra on October 10 at Golden West College.
"As we continue to communicate I think they will find that they will get along well on the court," Cole said. "The dynamic should be cohesive and have a lot of attributes of a team."
"The expectation is to compete," Cole said. "A conference championship is the goal. The student-athletes are smart players and find ways to score points and win."