WAUKESHA, Wis. -- Dominican, which received 11 of the 13 first place votes, was picked first in the Northern Athletics Conference preseason women's volleyball poll, the conference announced Thursday evening. The poll was voted on by the conference head women's volleyball coaches.
The Stars are coming off one of their best seasons in recent history, claiming a share of the NAC regular season title and posting a 21-13 record, 10-2 in NAC play. They also were runners-up in the NAC tournament, where they were the top seed in 2009. Though Dominican lost NAC Defensive Player of the Year Megan Moore to graduation, they return three all-conference selections.
Lakeland (23-13, 10-2 NAC) and Benedictine (16-16, 10-2) followed Dominican in the poll in the second and third spots. The two teams also claimed a share of the regular season title in 2009, and the Muskies won their third-straight conference tournament title for their second-consecutive trip to the NCAA III championship tournament. Benedictine won the NAC's inaugural tournament in 2006.
Edgewood (16-17, 8-4) was next in the poll, picked fourth, followed by Concordia Wisconsin (21-10, 9-3), Wisconsin Lutheran (17-17, 7-5) and Concordia Chicago (13-16, 5-7).
Aurora (17-15, 9-3) and Maranatha (12-18, 3-9) were picked eighth and ninth, while Marian (5-26, 3-9) and Rockford (6-23, 3-9) tied for the 10-spot in the poll. MSOE (2-31, 1-11) and Alverno (0-28, 0-12) were in the final two spots.
Nonconference play opens up the first week of September and the first conference matches of 2010 are on Tuesday, Sept. 14.
The 2010 NAC Tournament, which includes the top eight teams based on the final NAC standings, begins with quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, Nov. 2. The tournament continues with the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 6, and the final on Saturday, Nov.6. Each tournament match is hosted by the higher seed of the two teams. The NAC tournament champion receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA III Championship, which beings the following week of the tournament.
2010 NAC Preseason Poll1. Dominican (11), 166
2. Lakeland (1), 143
3. Benedictine, 136
4. Edgewood, 123
5. Concordia Wisconsin, 116
6. Wisconsin Lutheran, 109
7. Concordia Chicago (1), 96
8. Aurora, 93
9. Maranatha, 60
10. Marian, 47
Rockford, 47
12. MSOE, 32
13. Alverno, 15
First place votes in parentheses.
Northern Athletics Conference, Sports Information Department, August 26, 2010