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Andrew Palileo

Cougar Chats presented by:

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Chat with Washington State volleyball head coach Andrew Palileo on Wednesday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m.

Moderator: Good morning Cougar fans and thank you for visiting WSUCougars.com and today's online chat with Washington State Volleyball Head Coach, and 2009 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, Andrew Palileo. The Cougars, coming off a 2009 season that culminated with the program's first NCAA appearance since 2002, begin practice Aug. 9. Before we begin, you'll notice a 2010 ticket link at the top of this page. Click on that link to purchase volleyball season tickets and individual match tickets. Individual tickets go on sale Saturday, August 7 at 10 a.m., only at WSUCougars.com. Andrew, thank you for joining us today.

Andrew Palileo: Thank you for having me. It's always fun to do these live chats. I can't believe it is the start of my third season here at Washington State. The coaching staff and players are looking forward to another great year of Cougar Volleyball.

Moderator: Okay, we'll begin answering questions.

Galileo in Pullman: How tough was it to say goodbye to the senior class of last year? I'm going to miss them! They made Bohler gym the place to be!

Andrew Palileo: Galileo, anytime you lose four quality seniors it is always tough to replace them. They did a great job of being leaders and serving as great examples to not only the team but the community.

Reggie (Tacoma): The team got off to a GREAT 12-0 start last season, and then played consistently in the first half of the Pac-10 season and not so well in the second half of the season, what off-season preparations or drills has the team worked on for a strong season from start to finish??

Andrew Palileo: Reggie, great question. That is something that the coaching staff has been working on all year to ensure that we are doing a better job of preparing our players for the end of the season. But, I think last season was a matter of mentally being fatigued at the end of the year, because of the rigors of the Pac-10 schedule. This season we will look to plan our practices so that we maintain our level of play throughout the entire year.

Reggie (Tacoma): Coach, Do you expect any of the freshmen to contribute this season? The class of freshmen looks great and hopefully they will all contribute to another NCAA tournament run.

Andrew Palileo: Reggie, I think our freshmen will have the opportunity to contribute but you never know until preseason begins. We are looking for several positions to be filled, like the M2 position, as well as setting, so the opportunity is there, it's just a matter of them taking advantage of it.

Moderator: Coach, can you discuss how the success of last year has impacted recruiting for your program?

Andrew Palileo: In the long-term, I think that the success of 2009 has really made a positive impact with our 2012-13 recruits. We are receiving interest from many top recruits that we haven't received in the first two years. So, we look forward to maintaining our success in hopes of bringing the highest-level of recruits to Washington State.

Brett (Minnesota): Coach, when you arrived to WSU two years ago, what were your expectations?

Andrew Palileo: Brett, my expectations were to turn the program around. When we arrived I thought that we had some pieces in place. It was a matter of filling those pieces and changing the mentality of the current players from losing to winning. Sometimes when you step into a program that has been used to losing, the players are hungry for something different. We were able to provide that for them. As a result, the 2009 success came much quicker than I anticipated. A lot of credit goes to the players for buying into the system and believing in themselves that they can be successful at Washington State.

Kevin (Pullman): Do you have a plan to keep the atmosphere of Bohler gym like it was in 2009. (Including the Stimson Super Fans)

Andrew Palileo: Kevin, yes we do. It's called winning! When I was hired everyone was telling me that Bohler was an exciting place to play in. I finally saw that versus USC and UW last year. So, we are in constant communication with our marketing department to ensure that we create that environment as much as possible. But I also know that we need to put a product out there that people want to see and want to cheer for. So, my job is to prepare our players to be competitive, to bring energy, and to work hard so that we can continue our success of 2009.

Phillip (Pullman): First of all, Congratulations on all the success from last season. As we look forward to another exciting year of Cougar volleyball, I was particularly interested in the serving aspect of the game. As an avid fan, I felt like serving was one of the weakest elements. How will the staff adjust and train our players to serve tougher to prevent our opponents from running their offense consistently?

Andrew Palileo: Phillip, good observation! I agree that we could do a much better job of getting teams out of their system with our serve. We do need to score easier points from our serve. This past spring, we worked on our serving quite a bit and I believe that we will be much improved in that area. You can expect Oceana, Ganzer, and Rachael to have a more effective serve than last season.

David (Kent): Great work in your success so far! What component of the game do you expect to make the biggest improvement over last year?

Andrew Palileo: David, serving and ball control. In regards to serving, trying to create more pace on the serve and locate our serves with efficiency. In regards to ball control, we want to maintain our speed offensively, which will allow us to dictate tempo during a match.

Brian (Seattle): How do you see PAC-10 volleyball changing over the next few years with the coming addition of Utah and Colorado?

Andrew Palileo: Brian, that's an interesting question. I think it continues to get tougher, and the Pac-12 will maintain its reputation as the toughest conference in the country. I have had the opportunity to compete with both teams and both coaches and am familiar with the style of play they will bring to the conference. So, I believe it will only enhance the competition of our conference.

David (Kent): Your defense took some time to fully implement and new players will need to replace the contributions made by the seniors last year. Do you expect this year's group to pick up where they left off?

Andrew Palileo: David, defense is one of the areas that we will need to work on but I think we have the players in place to maintain the level that we need to compete.

Eric (Pullman): Hi Coach! Congratulations on last season. With the success that came, what are your expectations for this upcoming season both on individual and team levels?

Andrew Palileo: Eric, individually I think Ganzer, Oceana, Rachael, and Brittany, with another year of experience, will be even better. The challenge for them will be to make their teammates better so that the level of play continues to be one of a championship caliber. As a team, we want to play at a level where we are consistent and competitive so that we maintain it throughout the season.

Phillip (Pullman): Volleyball powerhouses like Stanford, USC, and Penn State have once again recruited top notch players (Falyn Fonoimoana, Rachel Williams, etc..) from all over the country to play for them for the upcoming season. As we continue to build a winning tradition here at WSU, do you anticipate that we will be able to attract more players (like Marcelina Glab) of that caliber to join our program? Or is our geographic location one of the biggest disadvantage to recruitment?

Andrew Palileo: Phillip, winning solves a lot of disadvantages. I believe that one of those is recruiting. If we continue to have success we will be able to recruit quality student-athletes that fit the mission of Washington State Volleyball. Our coaching staff has made a lot of good contacts throughout the west coast and with the addition of Utah and Colorado we will now be able to extend our base farther west. But we don't see Pullman as a disadvantage, but a positive alternative for recruits.

Dave (Modesto): Coach, Great Job last season. I want to know what it will take for your team to get back to "the big dance" again this year.

Andrew Palileo: Dave, number one, ball control; number two, ball control; and number three, consistency. So much of what our system is about depends on our defense and ball control. I believe we have the offense, we have the size, and we have the athletic ability to compete with any team in the conference. If we play the defense that we are capable of playing I believe that we can get back to the Big Dance.

Moderator: That's all the time we have. Andrew, thank you for joining us once again.

Andrew Palileo: Thank you for having me. I hope to see you all in Bohler Gym. Go Cougs!

Moderator: Thank you to everyone for your questions. Remember, to get all the information about WSU Athletics, go no further than WSUCougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Please join us tomorrow for a chat with Football Head Coach Paul Wulff at 11 a.m.