Cardinals open conference play tonight at home

All it took for the North Idaho College volleyball team was to travel to Twin Falls for a tournament at the rival College of Southern Idaho.

From that point, the Cardinals have been a completely different flock.

"They're playing much better now," said first-year NIC coach Kelsey Stanley. "Playing wise, we've always had the talent, but we're starting to come together as a team. There's been a lot of progress in our energy on the court and now when we step on the floor, we're ready to go, whereas we were a little afraid. Now, they're playing with more confidence."

NIC won three of four matches in the CSI tournament, then swept the Great Falls JV Sept. 12-13 to improve to 6-4 on the season.

"For them to get a chance to see we were playing with everyone else, and just needed to work better as a team," Stanley said. "That CSI tournament is where it kind of started rolling."

NIC has seven freshmen on its roster, and five sophomores.

"They've all played their role on the court and have done really well," said Stanley of the newcomers. "They were all recruited here with high expectations. Brenna (Meehan) was a setter at (Post Falls) high school and didn't hit that much, but is now an outside hitter. She's improved tons with a different role and proven that we can put her anywhere and she plays and hits well."

NIC opens Scenic West Athletic Conference play tonight at 7 p.m., hosting Utah State-Eastern (6-8) at Christianson Gym. The Golden Eagles lost in three games at the Community Colleges of Spokane on Wednesday.

The only common opponent between the two is Western Wyoming, with both NIC and Eastern losing in three games.

"We know that they're better than they were last year," Stanley said. "It's not going to be a walk in the park, and they're going to give us a run for our money. I'm really excited to see if the girls get after it right away."

Stanley has been an assistant coach the previous two years for NIC, which has advanced to nationals in four of the last five years.

"It's a way different role," Stanley said. "I could enjoy the game as the an assistant, but now it's a different feeling and with more pressure.

With my competitive personality, it's a lot harder to sit down and enjoy the game when you're losing. I love the sport, and if the girls play well - it's fun for me."

Southern Idaho (16-1) is ranked third in this week's NJCAA poll, Salt Lake (12-5) is ninth and Snow (13-2) is 11th. Snow is at Salt Lake on Saturday in other conference play.

"It's a tough match every night," said Stanley of the conference. "It's a very, very tough conference. I kind of like not being ranked. I like proving to these other teams we're right with them."

NIC concludes the weekend by hosting Colorado Northwestern (5-11) on Saturday at 1 p.m.