The Santa Rosa Junior College Bear Cubs’ volleyball team is already surpassing expectations as the first conference game approaches on Sept 15.

In the Delta Classic tournament, earlier this season, the Bear Cubs were put to the test right away, ranked in a lower seed due to last year’s [7-19] struggles, but responded strong going 3-1 in the tournament, utilizing “defense which is [their] biggest strength,” said head coach Kaitlin Ferguson.

SRJC used the tournament as a marker to see where its at this point in the season and now look to “work on the mistakes they noticed in the tournament and improve,” said middle blocker and captain Katie Williams.

With so much success going on with the Bear Cubs, Ferguson wants the team to stay in the present and take it one practice at a time, while still maintaining strong spirit and teamwork.

Being a youthful team last year helped the Bear Cubs develop strong leadership and the great chemistry that will help both on and off the court, according to captain Emily O’Brien.

SRJC opens up its’ Big 8 Conference season at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at home against San Joaquin Delta College.