Think the freshman setter, Whitney Bower, will probably start. Seems promising. Of course not the physical presence of Haddock-Eppich, not yet as strong in shoulders, but strong wrists with good, consistent ball contact. Comes off cleanly. Quick to the ball, quick reactions. Gets herself well positioned before making contact. Sometimes she was easy to read; other times she fooled me. Fluid backsets were nice to see. Blocking was okay. Not sure what her reach is. Kiani Moea’i and Tayler Tausinga aren't far behind. Not a lot of separation at this point, but Bower looks to have the most room for growth. Tough spot for a freshman. Think she may be up to the challenge. Olmstead seems to prefer running a 5-1 if possible, though she has used 2 setters to do that sometimes. Blocking could play a bigger role than it has for some time.

Heather Gneiting twisted an ankle slightly or something in set one or two and didn't play again after she rotated out. Didn't look bad. Did a tape job and she walked around fine. Think they were being careful with just 3 middles on the team and just a scrimmage. Hope they all stay healthy. Setting to middles wasn’t pretty. Slide not good. Others too low. Got gradually better. Whitney (McEwan) Llarenas got a lot of sets towards the end, but only a few she connected well with. Good adjusting to misplaced/mistimed sets. Blocking is a cut below the other 2. Gets fooled more easily and slower laterally. Eschenberg finally had some good swings when the sets were placed high enough.

McKenna Miller (Ah Sue) looked great. Couldn't tell she was coming back from injury. Taylen Ballard-Nixon much stronger this year. Definitely better on left side. She played some right side, but never looked comfortable. Swings tentatively on the right, but very aggressively on the left. Kate Grimmer (hits left-handed) at opposite started slowly. Seems to need sets off the net. Hits into the block otherwise. Didn’t see much tooling of the block either. Played better with experienced teammates. Played six rotations in last set and did pretty good. Might see her do that or just front row. Or might not play at all. Think she’s first choice to play right side if she can do it. Not sure if she can yet. Abbey Dayton was quite good. Doesn’t seem like a freshman. Plays the same no matter who she’s with. Seems ready mentally as well as physically. Think she'll see playing time, back or front. Maybe both. Serves well too. Erin Anderson hit out a lot. Not ready yet. Don't think Morgan Johnson did anything but serve. Riley Lyman and Madi Robinson about the same as before. Miller for sure at outside, but all sorts of combos for the other two pins. Could play Grimmer all six rotations or just front row. Could play Robinson or Lyman on left or right all six rotations, just front row, just back row, or not at all. Could play Ballard-Nixon left or right front row only. Could play Dayton back row for Ballard-Nixon, which they did in set 4. Or Lyman or Robinson just back row for her. Or a DS. Could see Dayton playing front row as well. Think it’s a tough call for the coaches. Still 2 of the 3 pins up for grabs. Think we'll see a few different options tried at least to start the season, maybe more matching up with opponents than before. Hard to say though since Heather Olmstead doesn't often do a lot of mixing and matching in matches if she can help it.

Lake was great as usual. Grace Wee impressed as DS/L. Think she's next best to Lake over Morgan Bower. Think Bower will play ahead of her though. Passing will probably be an issue with the pins. Not sure anyone is really good at it right now. Not sure about blocking. Seemed okay. Serving was okay. Digging seemed good. Block coverage pretty good too. Still working out plenty of kinks and getting familiar with playing together.