Aug. 14, 2006

Following this first entry of Bengal Diary, all subsequent entries will be available on the women's volleyball page of the website. Just click on the Bengal Diary icon located on the right side of the volleyball page.

Entry#1

Hello Idaho State University Supporters, friends, and family! My name is Kolay Mickelsen and I will be guiding your trip through ISU Bengal volleyball this season. I am so excited to tell about all the adventures to come this season. I know it is going to be a very memorable season for all of us.

We just started volleyball this past Tuesday. First met in the team room where we were given all of our team gear. Many of the girls on the team refer to this day as "Christmas." We are all really excited about our new Nike contract and are very excited about our new gear.

Wednesday was the beginning of double days for our team. We all eat breakfast together in the morning then head over to Reed Gym where we practice for the next few hours followed by lunch together as a team. Then enjoy a few hours of break, where the entire team scrambles to get the things done that they need to before coming back to practice again for 2 more hours. After our final practice we eat dinner together and then head home for a good nights rest. We repeat this schedule everyday.

I don't want to bore you all with our schedule so I thought I would tell you a little bit about our team. Our team this season is comprised of 3 seniors 1 junior 6 sophomores 4 freshmen. I plan on helping you get to know a new player each week so you can look forward to that in the near future. We are actually very young as you can tell. Inexperience is going to be one of our struggles this season but I believe that we will make up for a lot of that with hard work and passion for volleyball. There is not one girl who doesn't posses a passion for the sport of volleyball along with the desire to work hard.

One of the greatest qualities I feel our team posses is comrodery. We all really enjoy being around eachother even if it is from 7:30 in the morning until 7:30 at night we still enjoy each others company. There is a special kind of friendship that is already evident in our team. I feel this was a surprise to many of the players along with the coaches comments have been made about how our team has a bond as if we have been playing for years together on just a few days. I know that this bond will take us beyond our age and experience and help us to have a successful season. I look forward to sharing the rest of our season with you. It is going to be a great journey and I can't wait to share memories with you through the Bengal Diary.

Kolay