GNAC volleyball preseason preview and poll (PDF)
AVCA preseason national poll (PDF)
SEATTLE – With all but one starter – including two All-Americans – back on the court, one might expect that the Seattle Pacific Falcons would be the favorite to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women's volleyball championship this season.
And indeed, the Falcons are the favorite.
SPU received seven of the 10 first-place votes and 79 points altogether to gain the top spot in the conference preseason coaches poll, which was announced on Thursday.
The Falcons have a slight edge on Western Washington, which gained the other three first-place votes from among the GNAC's 10 coaches, and wound up with 75 points.
Seattle Pacific also is ranked No. 13 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll. That's the same spot in which it finished the 2010 campaign. Four-time defending NCAA Division II champion Concordia-St. Paul is a unanimous No. 1 in the AVCA poll.
Falcons head coach
Chris Johnson took the GNAC favorite's role in stride.
“It means we have the respect of the other coaches in the conference – and we certainly reciprocate that to every opponent we play,” Johnson said. “But we all know that the reality is (that being the favorite) doesn't really mean anything when it comes to who is actually going to win the match.”
SPU and Western tied for the conference crown in 2010 with 16-2 records. They split their two regular-season matches, each winning at home, then the Falcons came from behind to capture a five-game thriller from the Vikings in the NCAA Regional semifinals last November.
In a record-setting season, the Falcons finished 26-3 for the program's best-ever winning percentage of .897. That included a 16-0 start, which also was the best in school history (the previous best was 7-0). And, they advanced to the regional finals for the first time ever.
Helping them get there was libero
Anna Herold (Bothell, Wash./Shorecrest HS), who broke the school career record for digs – and now has her whole senior season to keep adding to it. Also making an impact was middle blocker
Nikki Lowell (Claremont, Calif.). She set both a single-match hitting record (.833) and a single-season hitting record (.382).
Lowell was named a second-team All-American by AVCA, and was the GNAC Freshman of the Year. Herold was an AVCA honorable mention All-American.
Other starters back for the Falcons are senior outside hitters
Lindsey Wodrich (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) and
Paige Hoffman (Encinitas, Calif.), junior setter
Shelby Swanson (Kennewick, Wash./Kamiakin HS), and junior middle blocker
Angie Pricco (Brier, Wash./Blanchet HS).
Wodrich and Lowell were first-team All-GNAC selections last fall. Herold, Hoffman and Swanson were second-teamers. Those five returning conference all-stars nearly match the total of six returning first- or second-teamers for the other nine GNAC schools combined.
In addition, Herold, Hoffman, Lowell and Swanson were all-region choices.
“Those that are returning have really earned the respect that the other coaches in the conference are showing us,” Johnson said. “We certainly hope that they're right.”
Seattle Pacific opens the season on Thursday, Sept. 1 against Chaminade at the Waikiki Beach Invitational in Honolulu. The Falcons will play four matches in that tourney, facing NCAA regional qualifiers UC San Diego on Sept. 2 and Sonoma State on Sept. 3. Prior to tangling with Sonoma on the final day, they'll meet Pacific West title challenger Hawaii Pacific.
A four-match tournament in Denver on Sept. 9-10 concludes preseason play.
The GNAC schedule opens on Thursday, Sept, 15, against Central Washington in Ellensburg at 7 p.m.. The home opener in Brougham Pavilion is Thursday, Sept. 22 against Western Oregon at 7:30 p.m. That start time is 30 minutes later than normal because of freshman orientation activities scheduled for Brougham earlier in the day.
GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll 2010 Records Pts
1. Seattle Pacific (7) 26-3 (16-2) 79
2. Western Washington (3) 20-4 (16-2) 75
3. Alaska Anchorage 18-9 (13-5) 63
4. Western Oregon 14-9 (12-6) 55
5. Central Washington 13-10 (11-7) 51
6. Northwest Nazarene 7-17 (7-11) 38
7. Montana State Billings 5-23 (5-13) 27
8. Alaska Fairbanks 7-17 (5-13) 26
9. Simon Fraser 4-18 (4-14) 25
10. Saint Martin's 2-22 (1-17) 10
(
NOTE: First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on a 9-8-7-6-5-4--3-2-1 basis, Each coach ranked the other nine teams).
AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll 2010 Records Pts
1. Concordia-St. Paul (32) 32-4 800
2. Central Missouri 32-5 735
3. Cal State San Bernardino 28-3 717
4. Tampa 31-4 703
5. Washburn (Kansas) 32-3 672
T6. Nebraska-Kearney 31-5 615
T6. Southwest Minnesota State 27-4 615
8. Grand Valley State (Mich.) 26-7 549
9. Wayne State (Neb.) 26-4 530
10. Hillsdale (Mich.) 29-2 509
11. Metro State (Colo.) 25-7 481
12. Minnesota Duluth 23-6 464
13. Seattle Pacific 26-3 433
14. Indianapolis 27-9 390
15. Lewis (Illinois) 27-5 363
16. Minnesota State 20-8 296
17. Western Washington 20-4 270
18. Emporia State (Kansas) 23-10 231
19. West Florida 30-7 213
20. Truman (Mo.) 25-8 184
21. Wingate (NC) 31-2 137
22. Dowling (NY) 31-2 119
23. Abilene Christian (Texas) 27-6 103
24. UC San Diego 19-9 76
25. Northern Michigan 22-7 59
(
NOTE: First-place votes in parentheses. Points awarded on a 25-24-23….1 basis.)
