LOCK HAVEN – Coming off its sixth NCAA Division II playoff appearance since 2002, the Clarion University women's volleyball team is picked to finish second in the PSAC-West by a vote of the division's coaches.
“I'm not concerned about where we are picked to finish in the preseason,” Clarion's fourth-year head coach Jennifer Harrison said. “To me, the biggest concern is where we finish at the end of the season. Preseason picks are just that, preseason picks, No one has played a match yet. For us, it's a matter of getting better each day so we go into each match competitively.”
Last season, the Golden Eagles went 26-10 overall and 15-4 in the Western Division finishing in second place in the West after taking fifth in 2008. Clarion then beat Edinboro in the opening round of the PSAC playoffs before falling to Lock Haven in the semifinals. Earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Golden Eagles dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Edinboro in the opening round.
Clarion returns 10 key players from that group including All-Region selections
Kellie Bartman (OH),
Rhianon Brady (LB) and
Nicole Andrusz (MH) and All-PSAC-West performers Andrusz, Bartman and
Amanda Gough (S), and has added an exciting freshmen class according to Harrison, the AVCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year in 2009 who has led the Golden Eagles to a 70-31 mark in her three years including two NCAA appearances and a second-place PSAC finish in 2007.
NOTES – Three-time defending PSAC and PSAC-West Champion California was picked to finish first in the PSAC-West. The Vulcans had three first-place votes, while Clarion picked up a pair of first-place tallies. Gannon (3rd) and Edinboro (4th) each had one first-place vote … For the second time in three years the PSAC qualified six teams for the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2009. In addition to Clarion, Edinboro and California, Lock Haven, Gannon and Mercyhurst also qualified for the NCAA Playoffs.
2010 PRE-SEASON PSAC-WEST COACHES' POLL
(First place votes in parentheses)
1. California (3)
2. Clarion (2)
3. Gannon (1)
4. Edinboro (1)
5. Mercyhurst
6. IUP
7. Slippery Rock
