More than nine months after celebrating its tenth national title in University Heights, Ohio, the Washington University women’s volleyball team would like nothing more than to replay that scene on their own court this year, and make no mistake about it—this group knows what it takes to win.

“I think there’s a high level of optimism simply because we’ve won the national championship last year, and it was such a positive and rewarding experience that it’s something we want to repeat,” head coach Rich Luenemann said. “We have the talent to do that, and we have the players who are willing to work hard enough to do that.”

The talent necessary for a repeat is certainly in place, but the challenges that the Bears will face have already begun to present themselves. Two of the team’s three captains from last season, Erin Albers and Laura Brazeal, have graduated, and junior Tricia Brandt will be out for the year with an undisclosed medical condition.

Everyone on the team recognizes the importance of replacing these players.

“It’s tough,” sophomore setter Marilee Fisher said. “Erin and Laura were by far the best captains I’ve ever had. With the intensity they had…they may not be replaceable in terms of their captaining abilities. They left big shoes to fill, but we’ll do our best.”

With the vacated playing time created from player departures, more opportunities are forming for new players to prove themselves. With seven freshmen on the team all looking to make contributions, more and more competition within the team is growing to replace the departed players.

After seeing the impact that sophomores Fisher and libero Kelly Pang made as freshmen on last season’s national championship team, there are high expectations for this class.

“The competition for starting positions is the best I’ve ever seen it since I’ve been at Wash. U.,” Luenemann said. “We have more depth than we’ve ever had, more competition for positions [than] we’ve ever had, and it’s a nice house to live in.”

These newcomers will provide depth that will complement the core of the returning team. Junior middle hitter Lauren Budde, last year’s NCAA tournament most outstanding player, will combine with Pang and Fisher, both All-Americans last season, to help spearhead the team’s efforts on the court.

“They’ve been working with us really well,” senior captain Marya Kaminski said of the freshmen. “We’ve added a lot of depth this season. It’s going to be really great. I think any team we put out there is going to be really successful.”

Sophomore outside hitter Drew Hargrave, who broke into the rotation midway through last season, has also been impressive in preseason practices.

“[She] came back in incredible shape, and she’s just destroying the ball,” Luenemann said. “She’s going to hurt some diggers this year.”

All of the pieces seem to be in place for a University Athletic Association title and another national championship run, but a tough schedule stands in the Bears’ way. Not only is the University Athletic Association coming off a strong season in volleyball, but the team will also get some early out-of-conference tests when they face Ohio Northern University (one of four teams to defeat the Bears last season) in the second weekend of the year and Juniata College (whom the Bears defeated twice, including in the national title game) in the third.

The Bears know they’ll have challenges to overcome, and with the first matchups tonight against Greenville College and Harris-Stowe University at the Wash. U. Field House, they know the season needs to be taken one game at a time.

“The only way to go is one match at a time,” Fisher said. “Winning another national championship is our big goal, but you have to win the games to get there.”