GNAC preseason coaches poll, season preview (PDF)
       Volleyball Alumni Night/25th anniversary celebration

SEATTLE – Although they don't have the favorite's role for the upcoming Great Northwest Athletic Conference volleyball season, it's clear that the Seattle Pacific Falcons are still highly regarded by the conference coaches.

SPU has been picked to finish third behind Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage in the preseason poll.

The Falcons, who went 11-5 in GNAC play and finished second to Alaska Anchorage last season after being picked fourth in the preseason, received 53 points in the polling. Western Washington, returning a group of 11 letterwinners that includes all seven starters (including its libero) and six all-conference players, finished atop the poll with four first-place votes and 72 points.

Defending champion Anchorage was close behind with 67 points. The Seawolves also received four first-place votes.

“The poll came out pretty much as expected. When I look at it, I don't see any surprises,” said Falcons coach Chris Johnson, whose team returns four starters, seven letterwinners altogether, and has seven newcomers on board. “Anchorage is the defending champion, so you expect them to get a good amount of votes. And Western Washington is returning their entire roster.”

Positioned right behind SPU in fourth is Central Washington with 52 points. After that, it's a 10-point drop to fifth-place Northwest Nazarene, followed by Montana State Billings (which also received a first-place vote), Western Oregon, Alaska Fairbanks, Simon Fraser, and Saint Martin's.

“Central, especially, has a good number of people back, and they certainly played us well this past spring,” Johnson said. “They're certainly not to be taken lightly. And NNU is always going to be tough – that's just the personality of their team.

"There's talent top to bottom (in the GNAC),” Johnson added, “and we're no exception to that, either.”

Seattle Pacific opens the season Sept. 3-4 at the Seawolf Spike in Rohnert Park, Calif., playing two matches each day. The Falcons start off against San Francisco State on Sept. 3 at 11:15 a.m., then face Cal State Stanislaus at 3:45 p.m. The next day, they take on Chico State at 1:30 p.m., and finish off against host Sonoma State at 7.

The Falcons play the following weekend at the Hawaii Invitational in Laie and Honolulu on Oahu, then open GNAC play on Sept. 16 at Central Washington. The home opener is Saturday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. against Northwest Nazarene in Brougham Pavilion.

On Saturday, Sept. 25, Seattle Pacific will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its volleyball program with Alumni Night against Saint Martin's at 7 p.m. More information, including free sign-up information, is available by clicking on the link above this story.



GNAC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
     School                               2009 record (GNAC)    Points
1.  Western Washington (4)    17-10 (10-6)                    72
2.  Alaska Anchorage (4)        23-9 (14-2)                      67
3.  Seattle Pacific                    17-12(11-5)                     53
4.  Central Washington           16-11 (8-8)                      52
5.  Northwest Nazarene          15-14 (8-8)                     42
6.  Montana State Billings (1)  17-11 (10-6)                   39
7.  Western Oregon                   8-19 (5-11)                   37
8.  Alaska Fairbanks                12-15 (6-10)                  24
9.  Simon Fraser                        3-17 (3-17)                  19
10. Saint Martin's                       3-23 (0-16)                    9   
First-place votes in parentheses. Points awarded on 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Simon Fraser did not participate in poll.