by Shirley Lin, Fort McMurray TODAY

07/10/2011 - Coming off a mixed-bag pre-season tournament, the Keyano Huskies women's volleyball team will be facing
off against Augustana and Olds this weekend — a good test for the team, says the coach.
Playing on home court, the team will host the Merit Hotel Invitational Volleyball Tournament which runs today and tomorrow.
Head coach Sean Seywright says both teams have been playing well and will push the Huskies this weekend.
On the Augustana team, Seywright said they've done really well from what they've seen for pre-season, on top of a successful last weekend.
"They've also incorporated a returning player from the NCAA. So they'll be bigger, they'll be more experienced, and they're already showing early success, so I think it will be a really good test for us," said Seywright.
As for Olds, he said they are expecting another tough match after getting a sense of a much stronger team coming off a game last weekend in Red Deer.
"They dug a lot of balls. They were tough to play against in terms of how their defense was set up and they didn't make a lot of hitting or serving errors, so they didn't give out too many free points, which was a change in how they played last year."
With two good opponents, said Seywright, they should really help his team prepare for the starting season.
But the ladies will have the advantage of playing home.
That means preparation, a great crowd of supporters, and the first chance for the team to showcase a big event.
"It's going to help us prepare 'cause it's on our home venue. It will be the first time we'll get the game day set up. They get to experience what our routine will be like in our home environment."
But more importantly, said Seywright, it's the impact on the community showcasing such an event.
There will be crowds of families and friends, and he hopes to bring in school teams as well.
Veteran player Desiree Denney, who is playing her first home game, said that should be a good change. "To actually have a couple of teams come here and play us I think should be a good change, and we'll be able to go home after and not have to go to a hotel."
The third-year vet, who plays libero, says from last season, it was a big learning curve for the team, and is expecting this season to be a lot better.
"I think we started out pretty strong, but I think that we're not used to playing with each other. We're all just kind of getting used to each other and learning who's going to take this ball, and who's going to take that ball."
Her personal goal this year is to stay more consistent after a "really up and down" previous season.
For rookie Brit Kozak, who plays middle, she said she is really enjoying her new team. "It's a new experience to me. This is my first year in the ACAC league and I'm really enjoying it. The group of girls I'm working with, we're all getting along good."
Seywright says the starting line-up is pretty set, and he will play starters as much as possible.
But there are a good number of older players in the starting line-up and some new ones challenging the roles, he said.
There could be a new middle in the line-up with local Haylea Hadfield, who previously played right side, splitting time with Kozak.
Seywright said he is looking to split time on the right side with new recruit Kelsey Bergey.
As for his expectations for this season, the coach just hopes to build on from the previous year.
The team ended five in 15, but nine of those losses were in the fourth set in the 20s point range on all sets.
"We were very close to winning a lot of those matches and just had a couple of bounces and inconsistencies. So we will be more consistent  this year."