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RIPON, Wis. – In its first season back in the Midwest Conference (MWC) since the 1997 season the Cornell Rams went undefeated and claimed a MWC Championship and are picked to do so again in the 2013 MWC Volleyball Coaches’ Poll. The Rams earned all ten of the possible first place votes for 100 points in the 11 team league.

St. Norbert picked up the other first place vote and had 91 points for a projected second place finish. St. Norbert has won an MWC Championship in three of the last five seasons and each time they won a MWC Championship they have also won the MWC Tournament. Both Lake Forest and Monmouth earned 73 points for a third place tie while Carroll was one point behind both with 72 points. Illinois Col. was picked in sixth place with 49 points followed closely by Grinnell (42 points) and Ripon (41). Lawrence (35), Knox (15), and Beloit (14) round out the poll.

Over half of the 2012 All-MWC Volleyball team returns this season led by outside hitter Kathleen O’Connor of Cornell who was named Player of the Year. O’Connor is joined by two other teammates on the first team including middle Taylor Dicus and defensive specialist Kylea Weber.  In total only five teams bring back an All-MWC performer.

Voting is done by the MWC head volleyball coaches. Each coach votes for the ten other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (ten points for first, nine for second, etc.). Coaches may not vote for their own teams.

Place	Team (First Place Votes)	Points
1	Cornell (10)	100
2	St. Norbert (1)	91
t3	Lake Forest	73
t3	Monmouth	73
5	Carroll	72
6	Illinois Col.	49
7	Grinnell	42
8	Ripon	41
9	Lawrence	35
10	Knox	15
11	Beloit	14

 

Team Previews:


Beloit Buccaneers (2012: 4-23 overall, 1-9 MWC)

Head Coach:  Dawn Redd (7th season); 82-90 (overall) / 32-23 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  7/1
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/1
Returning All-MWC: None

After winning the 2010 MWC Tournament Beloit has missed the four team field in each of the last two seasons…Molly Schulting led the team with 156 kills last season…Leah Kruckman averaged a team-best 1.99 kills per set and 51 blocks…Julianne Gruenhagen averaged 4.37 digs per set (380 digs) and had 23 service aces…The Bucs lost only one letterwinner from a year ago (Rachel Skoza)…Beloit ended the 2012 season winning two of its last three contests…


Carroll Pioneers (2012: 14-14 overall, 6-4 MWC)

Head Coach:  Becca Saal (3rd season); 46-40 (overall) / 15-12 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  7/5
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/2
Returning All-MWC: None

Carroll missed out on the MWC Tournament by one match last season and is in search of a trip back to the NCAA Tournament since making the trip in 2007…As a team the Pioneers finished in the top three of the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.140), assists per set (10.48), kills per set (11.36), and blocks per set (1.97)…Ashley Radtke finished 2012 with 34 service aces which ranked fifth in the league…Emily Cecka (0.90 bps) and Ratke (0.90 bps) both finished in the top five in blocks per set…Kelly Sloyan led the team in kills per set (2.60)….Jenna Shea collected 400 digs and average 4.30 per set last season…


Cornell Rams (2012: 20-11 overall, 10-0 MWC)

Head Coach: Jeff Meeker (12th season); 198-164 (overall) / 10-0 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/0
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/0
Returning All-MWC: Kathleen O’Connor (1st Team, MWC POY), Kylea Weber (1st Team), Taylor Dicus (1st Team), Sabrina Hargis (2nd Team)

In its first year back in the MWC, Cornell ran off a perfect 10-0 conference record en route to a trip to the NCAA Tournament…The Rams earned 16 shutout wins in 2012…Coach Jeff Meeker needs just two wins to reach 200 at Cornell…Cornell’s season ended in five-set NCAA first-round battle to eventual national champion St. Thomas...Kathleen O’Connor needs 93 kills to break the program’s career record of 1,395…O’Connor had a league-high 418 kills and served up 46 aces (third in MWC)…Taylor Dicus is 28 total blocks shy of the school’s career mark of 330…Dicus led the MWC in blocks (144) and was second in hitting percentage (.270)…Kayla Weber headlined the league with 647 digs and a 5.88 digs per set average…


Grinnell Pioneers (2012: 7-21 overall, 5-5 MWC)

Head Coach:  Jackie Hutchison (6th season); 41-72 (overall) / 20-17 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  7/8
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/2 Lost
Returning All-MWC: None

Grinnell is in search of a MWC Championship for the first time in school history and a trip back to the MWC Tournament after missing it last season…The Pioneers finished third in the league last season averaging 1.62 service aces per set…Lindsay Fujimoto (32), Sydney McClendon (27), and Claire Weidman (26) all had 20 or more services aces in 2012…Weidman is the top offensive threat after collecting 243 kill while also finishing second on the team with 196 digs…Fujimoto finished ninth in the league in digs per set (4.08)…


Illinois Col. Lady Blues (2012: 12-13 overall, 5-5 MWC)

Head Coach: Rachel Rohn (3rd season); 17-32 (overall) / 8-11 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  19/3
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/2
Returning All-MWC: Name (What team): None

After winning only five matches in 2011 the Lady Blues captured 12 wins last season and finished in sixth place in the MWC, two games out of a MWC Tournament bid…Illinois Col. finished second in the league in both digs per set (18.75) and services aces per set (1.64)…Brittney Burgess ranked ninth in the league in kills per set (2.51) while serving 27 aces (second on team) and averaging 2.89 digs per set (third on team)…Allye Wuest returns as the top defensive player after averaging 2.90 digs per set…Maurissa Moulton comes back for her junior season after running the offense and finishing sixth in the league with 7.79 assists per set…


Knox Prairie Fire (2012: 2-29 overall, 0-10 MWC)

Head Coach:  Shayla Chalker (2nd season); 2-29 (overall) / 0-10 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/3
Returning All-MWC: None

The Prairie Fire are coming off back-to-back two win seasons and aim to be in the mix for the school’s first MWC Championship since 1980…Knox dropped its final 15 matches of the 2012 season…Kaylie Prince led the team with 233 kills and a 2.26 kill per set average…Casey Stachelski averaged 2.19 digs per set (led team) while also collecting 592 assists for a 5.75 assist per set average…Amber Eisha led the team with 31 service aces and also contributed 200 digs…


Lake Forest Foresters (2012: 17-10 overall, 7-3 MWC)

Head Coach: Heather Noll (2nd season); 17-10 (overall) / 7-3 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  10/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/5
Returning All-MWC: None

In 2012 Lake Forest made a trip to the MWC Tournament for the third straight season (all as the three seed) and aim to make that four consecutive years and capture a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003…When playing more than three sets in a match the Foresters were 8-2 going 6-0 in four set matches and 2-2 in five sets…Lake Forest led the MWC in assists per set (11.72), kills per set (12.84), and digs per set (19.76) last season…Torie Pasiewicz is back after leading the league with 9.94 assists per set while also finishing sixth with 0.33 service aces per set…The Foresters need to retool on offense as they return only 103 kills from a team that totaled 1,207 last season…Brooke Perkins averaged 2.33 digs per set while Brianne Honda averaged 1.96 digs per set…


Lawrence Vikings (2012: 8-17 overall, 2-8 MWC)

Head Coach: Matt Schoultz (8th season); 67-140 (overall) / 20-44 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 11/7
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/2
Returning All-MWC: DS Kathleen Rowland (2nd Team)

Lawrence returns five starters from a team that won eight games in 2012…The Vikings finished third in the conference with 17.74 digs per set…Diane McLeod led the team, and finished fifth in the MWC, with 8.24 assists per set…McLeaod also finished tenth with 0.31 service aces per set…Kathleen Rowland was fourth in the league in digs per set (5.52)…Betsy Sorensen was seventh in the conference averaging 0.89 blocks per set and is the top returning Viking offensively after collecting 1.86 kills per set…


Monmouth Fighting Scots (2012: 19-11 overall, 7-3 MWC)

Head Coach:  Kari Shimmin (16th season); 282-210 (overall) / 77-49 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  8/5
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/4
Returning All-MWC: Mollie Murdock (2nd Team)

Each of the last three seasons Monmouth has earned a trip to the MWC Tournament highlighted in 2010 with a MWC Championship and hosting duties for the tournament…The Fighting Scots finished third with a .207 hitting percentage last season…Senior Mollie Murdock is only 749 assists short of setting a new school record…Murdock finished second in the league with 9.18 assists per set (955 assists)… …Mackenzie Gillund added 300 digs (2.88 dps) and 219 kills (2.11 kps)…Karrah Kuykendall returns after collecting 69 blocks…


Ripon Red Hawks (2012: 9-20 overall, 3-7 MWC)

Head Coach:  Katie Astrauskas (4th season); 29-60 (overall) / 9-19 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  9/3
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/2
Returning All-MWC: Emily Gary (2nd Team)

Ripon aims to get back to the MWC Tournament for the first time since 2009…Karlye Wehner enters this season ranking tenth in school history for kills (785) and fifth for total attempts (3,013)…Last season Wehner finished second on the team in kills per set (2.26)…The Red Hawks field a young roster as Wehner and Kirbi Dunlavy are the only two seniors on the 2013 team…Emily Gary played in all 29 matches, leading the team in kills (2.56 kps), blocks (0.81 bps) and service aces (25)…Gary finished sixth in the league in hitting percentage (.244) and eighth in kills per set…Brianne Milroy comes back after leading the team in digs per set (4.22) and service aces (25)…


St. Norbert Green Knights (2012: 24-9 overall, 9-1 MWC)

Head Coach:  Bethani Thibodeau (6th season); 126-41 (overall) / 42-4 (MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  7/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/3
Returning All-MWC: Breanne Brocker (2nd Team)

The Green Knights have earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last five years (2008, 2009, 2011) and led the league with 24 overall wins last season…Of the 24 wins for St. Norbert 16 came via a three set sweep…St. Norbert led the league in hitting percentage (.210), opponent hitting percentage (.117), and blocks per set (2.51)…Breanne Brocker returns after finishing fifth in the league in kills per set (2.73) and tenth with 4.01 digs per set with a .222 hitting percentage…Abby West was third with 915 assists…Heidi Spies finished third in the league in both hitting percentage (.269) and service aces per set (0.43)…

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