Cougar volleyball continues hot start

A day after opening their season with a 3-1 victory over American University, the Washington State volleyball team came out on Monday with another 3-1 victory over Howard. Even with a slow start the Cougars were able to outplay the Bison 25-22, 18-25, 25-16, and 25-21.

Junior outside hitter Mckenna Woodford led the team with 18 kills on the night and managed a double-double with an additional 17 digs. Sophomore libero Alexis Dirige led the team and landed second on the Cougars single game record book with 36 digs. She also had four assists on the night. Abby Phillips, the junior libero transfer from Iowa State appeared in her first action Monday and had 5 digs.

Cougar head coach Jen Greeny is looking to continue and add onto her success in Pullman from last year. Two years ago the Cougars were sitting at .500 and even worse the years before. Last season Greeny had them at 22-12 and in the NCAA Tournament where they lost to #3 Wisconsin.

Washington State will return to Pullman for the Cougar Challenge Tournament starting on Thursday. They will host Incarnate Word on Thursday at 1:45 pm followed up by Baylor at 8:00 pm later that night. On Friday they will play the remaining games against Quinnipiac at noon and will cap Friday with a 7:30 match against the College of Charleston.

Football:

WSUCougars.com | Washington State University Athletics
No. 24 Washington State opens the 2017 season hosting Montana State University Saturday at Martin Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.

Without any big surprises, Washington State unveils week one depth chart | The Spokesman-Review
The Cougars revealed their week-one depth chart Monday morning and while that’s usually a highly-anticipated moment for fans, the first two-deep of the season lacked any real plot twists or surprises.

Closky's Take: Breaking down Washington State's 2017 season | KREM.com
We are less than a week away from Washington State taking the field against Montana State, so I thought now is the appropriate time to prognosticate and see how the 2017 season will look. Before I get into predictions, I wanted to highlight one offensive key and one defensive key:

Basketball:

Jud Heathcote, who coached Michigan State to NCAA title dies at 90
Jud Heathcote, who led Michigan State and Magic Johnson to the 1979 NCAA championship, has died. He was 90. The school says Heathcote died Monday in Spokane, Washington.

The Daily Evergreen : Women’s basketball Thanksgiving tournament set
The WSU women’s basketball team will be on the road during Thanksgiving at the Gulf Coast Showcase Tournament in Estero, Florida. They will play the University of South Florida in the first round, led by Head Coach June Daugherty.

Volleyball:

The Daily Evergreen : Volleyball off to best start since 2013
Cougar volleyball (2-0) won again in four sets on the tail end of a match Monday night in Washington D.C. against Howard University (1-3).

WSUCougars.com | Washington State University Athletics
Sophomore Alexis Dirige had a career-high 36 digs as the Washington State volleyball team (2-0) defeated Howard University (1-3) in four sets Monday night at Burr Gymnasium in Washington D.C., with set scores of 25-22, 18-25, 25-16, and 25-21.