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INDIANAPOLIS - Southern Illinois at Edwardsville and Lewis have been selected as the favorites to claim division crowns in the 2007 Great Lakes Valley Conference volleyball preseason poll, the league office announced Thursday. SIUE, in its final season in the GLVC after announcing its intention to reclassify to NCAA Division I status, is the pick to claim the GLVC West. SIUE (29-6 last season, 16-0 GLVC) received 36 total points and six first-place votes to top the GLVC West poll. The Cougars, defending GLVC regular-season champions, return four starters from last year’s NCAA Division II Tournament participant. Lewis is the choice to win the GLVC East. The Flyers (25-6, 14-2 GLVC) captured the GLVC Tournament championship last season and received 35 points and five first-place votes. Lewis will feature senior setter Andrea Morrone and sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Sagat this season. Northern Kentucky University and Indianapolis tied for second place in the GLVC East poll with 29 total points. NKU, which posted a 20-13 overall record last season, received two first-place votes from the coaches. NKU is seeking its 15th consecutive 20-win season and welcomes back four starters. Norse All-America middle hitter Liz Holmes enters her senior season with 1,295 career kills, which ranks eighth in NKU history.
A year ago, Holmes led the GLVC in hitting percentage (.396, which was No. 3 nationally) and earned a spot on the All-GLVC first team for the third straight season. Holmes is trying to become the only three-time All-American in NKU volleyball history. Also returning is senior outside hitter Tristen Dye, who earned a spot on the All-GLVC first team last season. Dye finished with 399 kills and hit .282 as a junior. She also recorded 314 digs and served up 39 aces. Junior right-side hitter Kristina Eisenmenger was named All-GLVC second team after notching 420 kills and a .340 hitting percentage. She also earned a spot on the Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region second team. NKU’s recruiting class includes two-time NJCAA All-America libero Katie Latenser, who helped Johnson County Community College win the 2005 national championship. This will mark the first time since 2001 that GLVC volleyball has gone to divisional play. Each school will play divisional foes twice during the season and teams in the opposite division once. The top three teams from each division and two wild-card squads will advance to the GLVC Tournament Nov. 8-10. GREAT LAKES VALLEY CONFERENCE PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL POLL West
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