BYU volleyball team opening season without key pieces

PROVO — Unexpected personnel losses have left the BYU women's volleyball team in a bit of a quandary at some positions as they prepare to get their season under way in a tournament in Champaign, Ill.

The Cougars first will face the University of Illinois.

Yes, the Cougars knew they would be without the services of huge hitter and impressive all-around player Kayla Walker, who left the program when her eligibility ended.

But the first surprise this season came when libero Melissa Wright decided to leave the program so that she could be with her husband as he pursued his education at an out-of-state podiatry school. While the team has several promising liberos in the program, none of them have any experience playing major college volleyball, leaving the team with a big question mark on its passing.

"There could be some shuffling at that position," said BYU coach Shay Goulding, who noted that Kendalyn Hartsock has the inside track at the moment, but also pointed out that the coaching staff was going to use the first few matches to see which players weren't as affected by nerves and handled the pressure better.

The team's misfortune didn't end with the departure of Wright, however. Two more tough losses came during the summer and at camp, as outside hitter Casey Thurston's knees have not been cleared after surgery, and she has been declared unavailable this season. Yet another outside hitter went down during camp, as Camilla Phillips tore her ACL and is lost for the season as well.

Goulding may turn to incoming freshman Jennifer Hamson, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter who was planning a redshirt year this season.

Goulding said she'd be watching the team carefully and talking to Hamson about the option of playing this season. Goulding will be making the decision as quickly as possible depending on what she sees with the rest of the team after losing the two hitters to injuries.

Despite all of the question marks to begin the season, Goulding is looking forward to seeing exactly what the Cougars are capable of this year.

"We're pretty excited to see what we have. There's a competitive feel right off the bat with Illinois," said Goulding, who was especially excited about the addition of Stephanie Snow, a transfer from Arizona with three years of Pac-10 experience.

"She'll do good things for us this year. We have all the right people on the bus. Now we just have to see what we can do with them," said Goulding.