Thursday, August 20, 2009

MACON, Ga. (Aug. 20, 2009) - The ETSU volleyball team was picked to finish sixth in the 2009 Atlantic Sun volleyball coaches' preseason poll announced by the conference office on Thursday.

The Bucs received 63 points finishing ahead of North Florida (90 points), Kennesaw State (44 points), Campbell (41 points), Stetson (22 points) and USC Upstate (14 points). Defending champion Lipscomb finished first in the poll with 111 points and five first place votes, while Belmont finished second with 109 points and three first place votes.

ETSU returns nine players from the 2008 team that went 12-20 overall and 8-13 in conference play. The Bucs open the season on Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. against in-state rival Chattanooga at the Morehead State Tournament in Morehead, Ky.

Preseason Poll:

School                       Pts     1st

Lipscomb                   111     5

Belmont                      109     3

FGCU                         104     3

Jacksonville               88       

Mercer                        70

ETSU                          63

UNF                            60

Kennesaw State        44

Campbell                   41

Stetson                       22

USC Upstate             14

Tournament Champ: FGCU

Preseason All-Conference Team:

Pos                 Player                         School            

L                      Shelly Walroth            JU

At Large         Alex Kelly                   Lip

At Large         Stefine Pease           Lip

At Large         Channing Salava       Bel

At Large         Jenny Gray                 Bel

At Large         Kaley Read                UNF

At Large         Jacqueline Cowden  FGCU

At Large         Libby Hansch             Mer    

A tie in the voting results ended with seven At-Large members

Preseason Player of the Year:

Alex Kelly, Lip

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball and all other athletic news, please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.