Wildcats trying to stay undefeated in Durango, Colo.

The altitude is 6,512 feet in Durango, Colo. so the Wildcat volleyball team will make an attempt at an 8-0 start more than a mile above sea level Friday and Saturday. Sitting here at Whalen Gymnasium on the campus of Fort Lewis College, ACU isn’t even the farthest traveling visitor. In fact, five states are represented in the round-robin tournament including Dixie State (Utah), Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.), Montana State-Billings, and of course the hosts, Fort Lewis College.

An undefeated start, like last weekend for ACU (4-0) always gets people tracking best starts in school history. Well, 4-0 in the best start since 1994 under head coach Kent Wieb; that year the team went 6-0 before losing so the 2008 squad will need to win its first three matches to achieve a better start than the ’94 team. If the Wildcats were to go 7-0, it would tie them for the second-best start in history next to Wes Kittley’s 1987 team.

If ACU sweeps once again and leaves the tournament with an 8-0 record, the only team with a better start in the Wildcats’ recorded history would be Wieb’s 1991 team, which began 12-0.

The team arrived Thursday, walked around Durango for a couple of hours, and practiced at 5 p.m. in an effort to shake off the 700-mile bus trip.

One thing head coach Kellen Mock stressed to the team yesterday was the affect of the altitude on the ball and the way it may “float.” That will be something to watch as the Wildcats’ serves and passes may carry unlike they’re used to.

Senior middle blocker Lauren Leone (the team’s only four-year player) will indeed miss 2008 with a knee injury for which she will undergo surgery. Though nothing is set in stone, Leone isn’t scheduled to graduate until December of 2009, which would allow her time to play next fall with a medical redshirt if she opted to do so.

The Durango, Colo. trip will be a homecoming of sorts for a couple of Wildcats. Sophomore middle blocker Shawna Hines comes from Aurora, Colo. Though it is still a 338-mile trip, it’s much closer than road trips to Abilene for the Hines family, and Shawna’s parents and grandparents are sitting just below me in the stands as I write this post.

Freshman Kelsie Edwards is from Highlands Ranch, Colo., which is also 330+ miles away, however, her parents and sister are in the stands to cheer on the first-year player as well.

First up for ACU is Dixie State at 10 a.m. (RMT). The Wildcats will serve as the home team and face the visitors who enter with a 2-2 record. Dixie State comes from St. George, Utah, which is 500 miles from Durango, Colo.

Match is underway, more later …