Mount St. Joseph Picked to Claim Tenth HCAC Volleyball Crown
August 7, 2008
GREENWOOD , IN - The College of Mount St. Joseph volleyball team has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2008 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. In a poll of the nine HCAC head coaches, the Mount received 79 total points and eight first place votes.
Anderson University placed second in the poll with 64 points, while Manchester College is picked to finish third in the conference standings this fall with 62 points. Hanover College (53 points, 1 first place vote), Defiance College (39), Transylvania University (36), Bluffton University (31), Franklin College (27) and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (14) round out the poll.
The Lions are coming off a 20-17 season and 7-1 conference record in 2007, sharing the conference championship with Hanover College . The Mount fell in the HCAC Tournament championship game to Hanover , 28-30, 22-30, 30-21, 27-30, ending their season. MSJ will look to continue their dominance in the HCAC after losing solid talent to graduation.
Leading the way for Michele Benoit's Lions will be senior setter Katie Playko (Norwalk, Ohio/Norwalk St. Paul) , who was named to the 2007 All-HCAC first team, and junior outside hitter Anna Richter (Fairfield, Ohio/Hamilton Badin) .
Playko saw action in 37 matches last year, recording a league high 1,383 assists and also chipped in 333 digs. Richter earned a spot on the All-HCAC Second Team, adding 466 kills, 40 blocks, and 456 digs.
Anderson finished tied for third in the HCAC last season with a 6-2 conference mark and a 17-14 record overall. The Ravens will look to contend for their first conference volleyball championship this season behind junior Jessica Berlin (New Haven , Ind. /Snider) and senior Kasey Bollier (Pierceton , Ind. /Wawasee) . Berlin earned first team All-HCAC honors last season, recording 305 kills and 281 digs as a sophomore. Bollier contributed 1,235 assists, ranking second in the conference with an average of 11.23 per game.
Manchester finished tied with Anderson last season with a 6-2 conference record and an overall record of 16-15. The Spartans return 2007 Freshman of the Year Lauren Nash (Sellersburg , Ind. / New Albany ) to the lineup this fall. Nash led the HCAC with an average of 11.82 assists per game last season, and also added 389 digs during her rookie season. She will be joined by second team All-HCAC member Christa Peden (North Manchester , Ind. / Manchester ) to lead MC in 2008. Peden recorded 333 kills, 114 digs, and 118 blocks last season as a freshman.
The 2008 volleyball season is scheduled to open on August 29.