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By David Boyce  |  Pink Game Information Friday vs. Pittsburg State

MARYVILLE, Mo. - In the mind of junior Jackie Becker, Northwest Missouri State volleyball team heads into Friday's match against Pittsburg State at Bearcat Arena with a 0-0 record.
 
No, Becker isn't suffering from amnesia or has suddenly lost the intelligence that earned her MIAA Scholar-Athlete honors last year. Becker knows Northwest is 9-3 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA.
 
All it takes is a quick glance at the MIAA standings to see the Bearcats are currently in a three-way tie for first with Missouri Western and Central Oklahoma. Scan to the bottom and you see Pittsburg State is still searching for its first victory of the season.
 
But the Bearcats completely understand it is not wise to allow records to creep into their minds before their match with Pittsburg State or any opponent.
 
"We have a good idea of where we are, but we like to try to focus on the next team that is ahead of us because any bad team can have a good game," Becker said. "Look at things that happened last weekend with upsets, Washburn and Hays. That can happen to any team."
 
Indeed. A week ago, Washburn knocked off Nebraska-Kearney, a team ranked No. 14, on Friday. The Ichabods carried their perfect record into Saturday's match at home against Fort Hays State and lost in straight sets. Hays already had six losses on the season.
 
Northwest has back-to-back home games this weekend. The Bearcats will face Central Oklahoma at 3 p.m. Saturday at Bearcat Arena. Central Oklahoma is 13-1 overall.
 
The Bearcats must be equally ready for both opponents.
 
"We try to focus on us," Becker said. "We focus a lot on what we need to do instead of what they are doing."
 
Northwest coach Amy Woerth likes the approach the players are taking into each match.
 
"I have seen a lot of focus, a lot of grit," Woerth said. "The team chemistry is totally different from years past. We don't have a lot of new people. We retained a majority of our team. They are just getting older and more experienced.
 
"Young players got experienced last year. We took our lumps because of it, but they already have more experience than some other players in this conference who are juniors."
 
Players like Becker and sophomores Sarah Dannettell and Alexis Williams learned many valuable lessons from a year ago when Northwest lost 10 of its final 12 matches.
 
"I think we know last year we started off strong and then some things happened," Becker said. "We weren't proud of our record at the end. We definitely want to be recognized as one of the better teams in our conference. We should have been able to do that last year and didn't."
 
Going through those tough times built a strong bond and made the Bearcats determined to play up to their talent level. Becker saw a returning group that worked harder during the spring, summer and preseason workouts.
 
 "There was definitely a different feel," Becker said. "With only three freshmen coming in, it was easier to connect with them and get them to know our system faster. In preseason, we had a good chemistry throughout the team. It was easier to push through little obstacles."
 
Because of that chemistry, Becker is seeing something from the Bearcats on the court that she never witnessed in her previous two seasons.
 
"We've shown a lot more fight," Becker said. "We haven't lay down and died, yet. I am so proud of our fight, our pride and our passion to win.
 
"Amy talks about find that next gear. During games, we really strive to do that. I don't think I have seen our team push to find that next gear until this year."
 
Woerth sees players who come to practice every day with an intention to get better.
 
"They are excited about the team chemistry and how we flow together," Woerth said. "That has definitely changed the energy in practice.
 
"From the standpoint of how we started, that is going to build confidence to be able to go against those higher tier teams. What I do in practice is tailored toward those higher-level teams. If we can get them to rise to that occasion, they are going to be able to take care of the midlevel teams as well."
 
Becker said the Bearcats have to continue what they have been doing the first month of the season.
 
"If we keep being disciplined and focus on things we need to work on, we will continue to improve and our record will continue to show that," Becker said.