ORONO – Walk into Memorial Gym, close your eyes, and before long you’ll hear one of the reasons the University of Maine volleyball team is entering the season optimistic.

Amid the hand-on-leather smacks that signal another spike, there is a bigger, deeper noise.

It’s more of a tha-WACK. It’s sometimes greeted by squeals of delight by players who happen to be standing on the right side of the net.

It’s just senior star Leah Voss, unleashing another of her high-velocity missiles.

In other sports, they might call it a high hard one.

“In volleyball, it’s called ‘hitting a heavy ball,'” third-year coach Sue Medley said.

And the 6-foot-1Voss hits one of the heaviest in America East.

Last season, Voss led the league in both kills per game (4.83) and digs per game (3.97).

But even those numbers don’t really tell how important Voss was to a Black Bear squad that posted a 12-18 record a year after going winless in its first varsity season since 1983.

This does: Of the 4,097 swings UMaine took last year, 1,169 (28.5 percent) came off Voss’ powerful right arm.

“We did have other weapons last year, but Voss was a big part of us,” said sophomore setter Cheryl Elliott, who set school records for assists and service aces as a freshman.

“When we were in trouble, she got the ball. Every time. When she was hurting, she still got the ball. And she pulled through. She’s awesome that way.”

This year, things will be a bit different, Medley said. After two successful recruiting classes, the Bears have taken another step forward and hope to compete for one of four berths in the conference tournament. The Bears went 5-11 in conference play last season and finished sixth.

“We’re working on goals that are very, very different this year,” Medley said. “You want to put more hitters in a position to be successful, and I think we’re finally able to do that this year.”

The Black Bears open their season Friday night in Orono, taking on Boston College in the opening game of the Sea-Sun Opener Invitational. The UM-BC match is set for 6 p.m., while Army and Eastern Washington face off at 8. Maine will play Army at noon Saturday and Eastern Washington at 8 p.m.

Voss said she’s confident that the Bears will take another step forward this season.

“We did a really good job last year with less talent than we have now, so I think this year we’re gonna make it to the tournament. I know we’re gonna make it to the tournament,” Voss said. “That’s a given for me.”

Among the players Medley expects to be among the eight or nine that play every night: 6-2 senior Adrienne Poplawski, 5-11 sophomore Claire Poliquin, 6-0 freshman Marina Ivankovic, 6-0 freshman Carmen Gabriel, 5-11 sophomores Alaina Kleparek and Randi Olin, and defensive specialist Amber Sammons, a junior college transfer.

Beals native Tricia Carver decided not to return to the Black Bears during the summer, Medley said, in order to “concentrate on some other things in her personal life and academic life.”

Carver played in 34 of 106 games in 2000.

The Mainers on this year’s roster: 6-0 Brittany Howe of Columbia and Narraguagus High, and 5-4 defensive specialist Michelle Wheeler of Kittery Point, who attended Governor Dummer (Mass.) Academy.

MAINE WOMEN?S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

AUGUST

31, * vs. Boston College, 6 p.m.

SEPTEMBER

1, * vs. Army, noon; vs. Eastern Washington, 8 p.m.

7, ** vs. Alaska-Fairbanks, 8 p.m.

9, ** vs. Eastern Illinois, 6 p.m.

10, ** vs. Navy, 6 p.m.

12, Dartmouth, 7 p.m.

15, *** vs. Albany, 5 p.m.

16, *** vs. Sacred Heart, noon

21, **** vs. Delaware, 7 p.m.

22, **** vs. Maryland-Baltimore County, 9 a.m., vs. St. Peter?s, 1 p.m.

28, Vermont, 7 p.m.

OCTOBER

3, at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.

6, at Albany, 1 p.m.

7, at Northeastern, 1 p.m.

8, at Vermont, 7 p.m.

10, New Brunswick, 7 p.m.

13, Drexel, 1 p.m.

14, Towson, noon

20, at Stony Brook, 4 p.m.

21, at Hartford, 1 p.m.

24, New Hampshire, 7 p.m.

27, at Drexel, 1 p.m.

28, at Towson, 1 p.m.

29, at Loyola (Md.), 7 p.m.

NOVEMBER

3, Hartford, 1 p.m.

4, Stony Brook, 1 p.m.

10, Albany, 4 p.m.

11, Northeastern, 1 p.m.

17-18, America East Tournament

* Sea-Sun Opener Invitational, at Orono

** Nanook Classic, at Fairbanks, Alaska

*** Sacred Heart Invitational, at Fairfield, Conn.

**** Delaware Invitational, at Newark, Del.