The 2016 volleyball season is underway and the Everett Community College Trojans are back amongst the competition in the Northwest Athletic Conference. With the season kicking off on August 27 for pre-conference play tournaments, the Trojans had a long preparation leading up to their conference opener against Shoreline.

Prior to league play, the Trojans got off to a slow start, beginning the season 0-4 and finishing up their non-league schedule 3-11. The team’s rocky start continued into the beginning of league play as they dropped their first four games and fell to last place in the northern division of the NWAC.

Despite their position, the Trojans are looking to rebound and put some numbers in the win column.

“We had a rough start,” said Bre Covey, the team’s assistant coach. “They’re working on their skills and developing as volleyball players and they need time.” The slump is understandable, as they sport nine freshman and only three sophomores, tying with Whatcom for being the least experienced team in the league.

Meanwhile, at the top of the northern division, Bellevue holds five sophomores on their roster. With so many first year players and such little experience playing at the college level, getting the season going on the right foot can be hit or miss.

“It’s difficult with a new set of girls every year,” said Covey.

The Trojans return with just one player from last year’s roster: Cassidy Olcese, a sophomore outside hitter. Some key

players on this year’s roster include Mia Due, defensive specialist,  Kaelyn Cornell, the team’s center and Emma Lessley, an outside hitter. All three are freshmen.

With such an overhauled roster, which can be expected on community college teams, the question of chemistry is raised. How does a team mesh together with so many new faces? “Luckily for us, we have a few weeks of play and practices before our season actually starts,” said Covey.

As the Trojans move deeper into league play, each game begins to count more. “The conference is pretty strong,” said Covey. “We emphasize to start strong, stay strong and finish strong, with any opponent.”

The Trojans will look to apply that mindset on October 7, when they face off against the undefeated Bellevue Bulldogs who currently sit atop the northern division of the NWAC.

Looking ahead at the Trojans’ schedule, opportunities for a climb in the standings are present. Having already dropped their first four league games to Shoreline, Whatcom, Skagit Valley and Edmonds, the Trojans sit at last place in their conference. The Trojans will face these four teams again along with two matchups against Bellevue and Olympia, and will have the opportunity to tie up the head to head records on the season with each of these teams.

In order for improvement, the Trojans will undoubtedly need to improve their hitting percentage as they sit last in the conference rankings, sporting a percentage of 2.3%. Look for a late push by the Trojans in league play in hopes of a playoff berth as EvCC enter into the second half of the season.