Mount St. Joseph is Coaches Pick to Claim Eleventh HCAC Volleyball Crown

GREENWOOD, IN - The College of Mount St. Joseph volleyball team has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2009 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. In a poll of the nine HCAC head coaches, the Mount received 80 total points and eight first place votes. 

Anderson University placed second in the poll with 66 points and the final first place vote, while Defiance College is picked to finish third in the conference standings this fall with 59 points.  Bluffton University (51 points), Manchester College (47), Hanover College (44), Transylvania University (26), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (19) and Franklin College (13) round out the poll. 

The Lions are coming off a 29-11 season and 7-1 conference record in 2008, claiming their tenth consecutive conference championship. The Mount won the HCAC Tournament and fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to host Washington (Mo.), ending their season. MSJ will look to continue their dominance in the HCAC with new head coach Jon Bennett. 

Leading the way for Coach Bennett's Lions will be junior outside hitter Jamie Grauvogel (Cleves, Ohio/Harrison) and senior outside hitter Anna Richter (Fairfield, Ohio/Hamilton Badin), who were named to the 2008 All-HCAC first team. 

Grauvogel saw action in 40 matches last year, recording a league-high 490 kills and also chipped in 435 digs and 71 blocks.  Richter added 337 kills and 403 digs in 40 matches.  

Anderson finished tied for second in the HCAC last season with a 6-2 conference mark and a 14-17 record overall.  The Ravens will look to contend for their first conference volleyball championship this season behind seniors Jessica Berlin (New Haven, Ind./Snider), Caitlin Morency (Lanesville, Ind./Floyd Central), and Carol Weatherford (Terre Haute, Ind./North).  The trio earned first team All-HCAC honors last season with Morency claiming the Defensive MVP award.  Berlin notched 357 kills and 465 digs last fall, while Morency led the conference with 701 digs.  Weatherford contributed 256 digs and ranked second in the league with 106 blocks as a junior. 

Defiance finished tied with Anderson last season with a 6-2 conference record and posted an overall record of 15-13.  The Jackets return 2008 first team All-HCAC member Danyel Lipps (West Alexandria, Ohio/Twin Valley South) to the squad.  Lipps blasted 299 kills and added 376 digs in 28 matches as a junior.  She will be joined by honorable mention All-HCAC member Julie Brunsman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) to lead Defiance in 2009.  Brunsman was the setter for the Jackets last season, contributing 565 assists as a sophomore. 

The 2009 volleyball season is scheduled to open on September 1.

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