Position: Middle blocker

Height: 6-2

Hometown: Layton, Utah

Year: Sophomore

Academic major: Theraputic Recreation

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite musical: Singing in the Rain

Favorite movie: The Proposal

Favorite place to travel: Alaska

Favorite actress: Sandra Bullock

Someone you look up to: Emma Smith

Something few people know about you: I want to go to Australia and go camping in the outback.

If you were queen for a day, you would: Feed all the hungry children.

Favorite quote: Carpe diem- Sieze the day

Top three things you did this summer: Went to Alaska, played/coached volleyball, went to the Grand Canyon.

Why did you decide to come to BYU? Because it’s where I’ve always wanted to come here.

Position: Defensive Specialist/Libero

Height: 5-9

Hometown: Beaverton, Ore.

Year: Freshman

Academic major: Elementary education

Favorite color: Pink and purple

Favorite place to eat: Olive Garden

Athlete crush: Roger Federer because he is one of the best tennis players in the world, he is humble amid his many successes, and he is a handsome, fit athlete.

Favorite Movie: Tangled

Someone you look up to: My three older brothers: Justin, Drew and Mitch.

Something few people know about you: I did pole vault in high school and I love white coconut chocolate.

If you were queen for a day, you would: Buy Disney World for the day and take all of my friends and family to spend the day there with me.

Favorite quote: “I’m proof that great things can happen to ordinary people if they work hard and never give up.” - Orel Hershiser

Why did you decide to come to BYU? I wanted to represent the school that represents my values by academic and athletic excellence.

Kendalyn Hartsock

Position: Libero

Hometown: Kalispell, Montana

Height: 5-6

Academic major: RMYL- Commercial

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite musical: The Sound of Music

Favorite place to eat: Mama’s Kitchen/Frugals

Athlete crush: Noah Hartsock- He’s a hottie!

Favorite place to travel: Anywhere tropical

Someone you look up to: My dad

Favorite actor/actress: Sandra Bullock

Something few people know about you: I’m part Canadian, eh. I like feet.

If you were queen for a day, you would: Create a new holiday.

Top three things you did this summer: Oklahoma to see Noah’s family, anniversary in St. George, Montana to see my family.

Why did you decide to come to BYU? To get a good education and find my husband...Which I did!

Heather Hannemann

Year: Junior

Position: Setter

Height: 5-8

Academic major: Exercise and wellness

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite musical: Wicked

Favorite place to eat: Cafe Rio/Rumbi

Athlete crush: Dwayne Wade

Favorite place to travel: Hawaii

Someone you look up to: My mom

Favorite actor/actress: Robert Downey Jr.

Something few people know about you: I’m part Samoan

If you were queen for a day, you would: Eat frozen yogurt all day, get a new wardrobe and go to Bora Bora.

Top three things you did this summer: Went to Hawaii, spent time with family, swam.

Why did you decide to come to BYU? I love the atmosphere and it’s close to home.

Nicole Warner

Year: Junior

Position: Middle blocker

Height: 6-2

Academic major: Exercise science

Favorite color: Aqua blue

Favorite musical: Phantom of the Opera

Favorite movie: The Proposal

Favorite place to eat: In-N-Out or Cafe Rio

Athlete crush: Jourdain Scoubes- he’s my boyfriend and an amazing basketball player.

Favorite place to travel: Hanalei, Hawaii

Someone you look up to: My mom, Kris Warner

Motto/favorite quote: “Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or the faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.”

Something few people know about you: People always ask if I like being tall. I LOVE IT! I love it so much that I proudly wear heels every chance I can!

If you were queen for a day, you would: Solve world hunger.

Why did you decide to come to BYU? I have Cougar-blue blood.

Jennifer Hamson

Year: Sophomore

Position: Opposite hitter

Height: 6-6

Academic major: Exercise Science

Favorite color: Blue

Favorite musical: Les Miserables

Favorite movie: The Princess Bride

Favorite place to eat: Zupa’s

Favorite actor/ or actress: Morgan Freeman

Favorite place to travel: California

Someone you look up to: My mom

Motto/favorite quote: Work hard so you can play harder.

Something few people know about you: I did gymnastics when I was younger.

If you were queen for a day, you would: Try to meet a lot of great and famous athletes.

Top three things you did this summer: Played pickup, went swimming and family vacations

Why did you decide to come to BYU? BYU is somewhere I could get an education, play sports and it has a great environment.

Last week was a fun, yet bittersweet week for BYU Volleyball. We were able to play our last two home matches of the 2009 season and honor our four seniors who we will miss tremendously.

We started off the week with three great practices. Then, on Wednesday, we were able to do a Dorm Storm to advertise our matches.

Thursday was game day! We had a short serve-pass and then ate a team meal in the film room. When it was time to play, we came out strong and the Cowgirls were not able to stop us all night. Everyone played great and it was a fun game to watch. Our seniors were all able to play and contribute to the win which was good.

Friday we got back in the gym with a laser-like focus and ready to upset the #1 team in our conference, Colorado State. We practiced for a few hours and then some of us went to the season-opener for Men's Basketball where we got to go on the court at halftime and throw t-shirts and volleyballs out to fans while our last home game was announced.

Saturday came quick! Some of the underclassmen decorated the seniors' lockers and each senior was given a picture in a picture frame and their favorite snacks. We got in the gym for a little bit early in the day and then had Jimmy John's sandwiches (a team favorite) delivered to the film room. We talked about our game plan while we ate together. Then we had a couple hours before we had to be back for treatment and pre-game routines.

The men's volleyball team had an Alumni game during that time so many of us went to go cheer on our coaches (who happen to be alumni), Shawn and Chris. It was fun to watch them play and watch to see if they are actually doing the things that they tell us to do every day in practice :).

Finally, the night came and as I said, it was bittersweet. Our seniors were recognized and presented with their families (parents and husbands) before the game. We fought for five long sets and although the numbers and stats were in our favor, Colorado State came out on top.

We love our seniors so much and we are so sad to see them go but we know that they are going to do great things wherever they decide to go. We are excited for them to start their lives beyond BYU volleyball and can't wait to hear about all of their exciting adventures. Kayla, LauLau, Spec, and MoMo - thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to this team. We love you and you will definitely be missed!

Last week we traveled to Texas to play TCU and also to Albuquerque to play New Mexico. It has been a while since we have traveled and road trips are always so fun with the team. We first arrive in Fort Worth, Texas and the weather there was so nice and warm, a big change from Utah. We ate at great restaurants of course. A lot of the girls on the team were sick, so we ate at Panera Bread twice because soup heals everything. We practiced when we first got there and watched film afterwards to help us prepare for our match. Thursday came fast, and we were out to beat the Horned Frogs. However, we did come up short and didn't play our absolute best. The loss was hard, but it gives us more motivation to work and play harder.

We arrived in New Mexico on Friday and had a lot of down time before we had a great practice later that night. Of course we ate at Mimi's Cafe for lunch; pumpkin muffins are the best thing in this world! We felt really prepared going into the match on Saturday, and all were very excited to play New Mexico again. The match was intense and both us and New Mexico played really well. Despite the close loss to the Lobos, we all felt we played as hard as we could. The week came to an end, and we had a six a.m. flight, which meant leaving at four a.m. for the airport. It didn't help that "The Dark Knight" was on TV that night, so staying up until one a.m. to watch a three-hour movie wasn't probably the best thing to do. We made it back to Provo safely very early. Because of the tough weekend, we have a stronger fight in us to play harder and beat both Wyoming and Colorado St. on our home court. We are very excited, especially to celebrate senior night Saturday night.

Funniest memory of last week: Watching Stephanie Lau wear Cosmo's head and walk around the hotel with the head of a cougar as people just stared. We thought it would be even more funny to scare our teammates with Cosmo's head on Stephanie's little body by knocking on their hotel doors and growling. We recovered Cosmo's head (our mascot) from TCU. Apparently TCU accidentally took it from the football game and they gave it to us to bring back to Provo. Very funny!

This past week we played two great teams and came out on top. Winning is always a great feeling, especially since we've been working so hard.

On Tuesday, October 27th, we played a very strong UVU team, probably the best team they have had. UVU has beaten every team in Utah (except BYU) this season including University of Utah, Weber State, Utah State and SUU. They came out strong in the first and second set, making it close, but losing 25-22 and 30-28. The third set we dug ourselves a hole and lost 15-25. Not to be shaken up, we came back and won the fourth set 25-23.

The Wolverines are a scrappy team who has a lot of emotion and passion, and it was with a lot of confidence and teamwork that we captured the win.

On Thursday, October 29, we were excited to take on the UNLV Rebels! The most exciting part of our night was honoring our Athletic Trainer, Gaye Merrill, with Dig-Pink. It was our Breast Cancer Awareness game, in which we were proud to honor our wonderful trainer who is a breast cancer survivor. The whole crowd was in Pink, as was our team. Gaye takes such great care of our team and never complains. We are so thankful to have such an amazing woman healing all our injuries and taking care of any little boo-boo we have. What a woman. We love to spoil Gaye and we hope that she knows how much we really love and appreciate her.

After starting out slow against UNLV and losing the first set 18-25, we stepped it up and won the next three in a row, quite confidently: 25-15, 25-23 and 25-14. The Rebels are a great team and we are glad to have another win under our belt, especially as we are fighting to win our conference and go to the NCAA tournament at the end of our season. We are working hard every day and have our goals in sight. Thanks to everyone for your support! Go Cougars!

Hello Cougar Fans! What a busy week it has been, volleyball sure has been keeping us going! Monday night we had a chance to get out into the community and bring fans out to our rival game against Utah on Friday. We split up and spread out around Provo, talking to fans and handing out vouchers for our game. Tuesday we had a great practice and had time to get into the weight room one last time with our strength coach Tony before he left for BYU Hawaii. Wednesday evening we did our annual dorm storm at Helaman Halls. We visited with the freshmen and it was great to see them so excited about BYU volleyball! Thursday we were able to have a great full practice and really prepare for our game against Utah. Friday was the big day! The Fieldhouse was packed with Cougar fans and we were all excited to face the Utes. We came out very strong and won the first two sets, but unfortunately, after a long five-game battle and emotions running high, we fell just short. However, we are excited to get back in the gym and work hard to prepare for facing UVU and UNLV this week. Thank you for all your support and hope to see at the games!