August 10, 2010

Volleyball Tabbed Third in GLVC Preseason Poll

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll, as announced today by the league office. In the annual vote of the conference head coaches, Indianapolis was selected as the favorite to claim the 2010 GLVC Volleyball Championship.

UIndy, the defending league champions, collected 193 total points and 11 first-place votes to finish ahead of Lewis, which earned 179 total points and picked up two first-place votes to finish second in the poll.

The Tritons garnered 163 total points and one first-place vote to finish in third place.

Northern Kentucky recorded 158 total points in the poll to finish fourth, while Rockhurst finished fifth with 143 points and received the final first-place vote.

Southern Indiana came in sixth in the balloting with 130 total points and was followed by Drury (113 points), Bellarmine (97), UW-Parkside (96), Saint Joseph’s (81), Missouri S&T (74), Quincy (65), Illinois-Springfield (36), Maryville (31) and Kentucky Wesleyan (16).

The GLVC Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll is voted on by the league’s 15 head coaches. Each coach selects their predicted order of finish and is not allowed to vote for their own team.

Teams in the GLVC will compete in a round-robin schedule in 2010 and the top eight teams in the standings will advance to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The GLVC Championship Tournament will be held on Nov. 14-16 and will be hosted by the team with the best conference record.

Illinois-Springfield will be eligible for the GLVC Tournament for the first time in 2010. Maryville will not be eligible for the tournament until the 2011 season.

UMSL, under the direction of third-year head coach Trent Jones, returns 10 letterwinners, including five starters plus its libero from last year’s 21-11 team, which placed third in the GLVC standings with an 11-3 mark. The Tritons also recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

UMSL opens the 2010 season September 3-4 at the University of West Florida Comfort Inn-vitational in Pensacola, Fla. The Tritons will face Alabama-Huntsville in its opener at 9 a.m. on Sept. 3.