“It was a good day for us to work on techniques,” junior outside hitter Karrie Liu said of the Aug. 31 preseason game.

Sophomore setter Katrina Lau agreed. “We were ready; it was a good game to open with and to test where we were as a team, our strengths and weaknesses,” she said.

By the time Drew finally got their bearings and realized that their lack of strategy was not working, Lowell led 12-0.

In the last set, the Dragons managed to improve somewhat, offering a short but spirited attempt to score some points, including some well-played fakes that caught the Cardinals off guard. However, it was too late; Lowell still massacred the Dragons in straight sets, 25-5, 25-3, 25-13.

“We came out strong,” coach Reva Vrana said. “We were able to show improvement on some things we were working on in practice. I think we did a fairly good job at keeping the level of competition up.”

This season, a key recruit to the team is Vrana, Lowell class of ’98, who is enthusiastic about her players.

“The team this year is great,” Vrana said. “With five really strong returning seniors, five juniors and two sophomores, all in all we’re a young team. We have strong leaders who provide great leadership off and on court.”

Vrana has been holding daily practices with the team since summer. “We spent a fair amount of time on beach conditioning, so the girls had an opportunity to play on the sand, which helps them improve their speed, passing and overall level of playing,” she said. “The whole week before school started, we had double days.”

The team’s regular warm-ups are not easy, either. “We’re required to do 100 push ups and crunches,” Lau said. “We do a lot of drills, and we play a little bit to work on team chemistry.”

Practices combine conditioning, skill and team play. Vrana pushes her girls so that when times get tough, they will be able to pull through. “The important factor is not only to be in shape physically, but pushing through moments when you think you can’t go on further,” Vrana said.

Not much extra endurance was needed for their first pre-season game, which lasted only 45 minutes. Catch their opening season match at 5:10 p.m, Sept. 27 at Burton. For dates on other matches, go to the Lowell Web site and click athletics.