Washington is less than a week away from the start of another highly anticipated volleyball season. The Huskies have one of the most experienced rosters in school history, with seven seniors, three in their fifth year, plus four talented newcomers that give UW its largest roster in many years. Ranked No. 3 in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 and No. 1 in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, the Huskies have championship aspirations. The season opens with a bang this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 25-26, at Alaska Airlines Arena, as the Huskies host Pittsburgh, a 2016 NCAA second round team, on Friday and then plays a Saturday double-header against St. Mary's and No. 9 Creighton, a 2016 Elite Eight squad.

Keegan Cook, going into his third season as Head Coach and fifth overall at Washington, shared his thoughts on where the Huskies are at going into the fall. Today it's a look at the setters.

Middle Blocker Preview

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After leading the conference in assists per set, making the All-Pac-12 Team and earning All-America Second Team honors, it's no secret that fifth-year senior Bailey Tanner is considered one of the best setters in the Pac-12. But when Head Coach Keegan Cook looks at the position, he sees "two of the best setters in the Pac-12."
 
No, he's not seeing double, that's just how highly he regards Jade Finau, herself a fifth-year senior.
 
"That's how good I think Jade has become," he says. "She's one of the better setters in the Pac-12. We're very fortunate. It's fun to coach her and fun to watch her."
 
Also getting to spend a year competing with and learning from the two fifth-year seniors is freshman setter Natalie Robinson. The product of Mercer Island High School is the first new setter to join the Husky roster since Tanner and Finau were true freshmen in 2013.
 
Tanner and Finau's leadership will be crucial as always if the Huskies are going to capture a third straight Pac-12 title and break through to a Final Four that they've been seeking since their freshman years.
 
Last season, Tanner became the first Husky setter named All-American since 2009, and not coincidentally she collected most of her assists by dishing to outside hitters Courtney Schwan and Crissy Jones, who both earned All-America honors of their own.
 
Coach Cook believes there is still untapped potential for Tanner, who is eighth in career assists with 2,565 but could potentially climb all the way to No. 3 this year.
 
"I still don't think Bailey is as good as she can be, and I sense that we're running out of time, so I feel a tremendous amount of urgency to leave no stone unturned with her game," says Cook. "We know she's a competitor, she wants to make a great impact in her last season, and she's allowing herself to be coached more than ever. She's doing a nice job."
 
Continuing to fine-tune and improve with the veteran outside hitters will be a challenge, as well as looking to increase UW's production from the middle to make the Huskies more balanced and unpredictable.
 
According to Coach Cook, "Bailey's ability to run an offense that involves a lot of quick attacks, whether that's in front of her or behind her, and being able to take some less than perfect passes and set them to her quick attackers in positions where they can score, that would be probably the biggest improvement she can make this fall. She's really utilizing her middle blockers in lots of situations. Her serve is tremendously important; she needs to have another good serving year. Defensively I think there are a few plays she might have left out there that she'd like back, but if there is one thing it's the ability to set quick from lots of places."
 
While last season was the first since 2010 that the Huskies were fully committed to a one-setter rotation, Finau certainly gives UW a wealth of options at the spot. In addition to her 38 career matches played and all the countless hours in the gym, Finau also was the one setter on the team's summer Europe trip as Tanner was unable to travel, giving Finau even more valuable time managing the offense.
 
"Jade is an impressive player. She had a great spring and a great summer. This is as good as she's ever played in all areas of her game; her serve, her defense, most of all just her competitive leadership is as good as I've ever seen it," says Cook. "She's a force out there for our team, she makes us better."
 
The 2016 KingCo MVP and a Star Times pick by the Seattle Times, Robinson helped her high school team take third in the state tourney last year. If she has felt any freshman jitters, Robinson has not displayed them through two weeks of practice. Cook says she came into camp "full steam ahead."
 
"Natalie may not have all the technique or all the movements in place but from a competitive aspect she's going for it. She has raised the eyebrows of our staff a few times, in a good way. I knew she was a great competitor when we recruited her, I didn't know that it would necessarily come to light so early in fall camp. But she's a good setter with a great serve and a good defensive presence. She's not intimidated by circumstance and it's fun to be around that."
 
Learning from two of the best in the Pac-12 will be a great experience for Robinson, and Tanner and Finau's leadership should provide a steadying presence on and off the court all year for the Dawgs.