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BAY CITY, Mich. – The head volleyball
coaches of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
(GLIAC) have chosen Saginaw Valley State University to finish third
in the GLIAC North for the upcoming 2009 season.
The Cardinals are coming off a stellar 2008 campaign in which they
advanced to the NCAA Division II Regional Finals while finishing
the season with a 25-8 overall record (11-5 GLIAC). The American
Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) tabbed Head Coach Will Stanton as the
2008 Midwest Region “Coach of the Year”. Under his
leadership, the Cardinals finished last season ranked 24th in the
nation. The 2008 team also produced four All-GLIAC performers.
Sarah Redoute and returning senior Kait Harris
(Essexville, Mich./Garber HS) were named to the All-GLIAC First
Team while returning senior Jaclyn Carnago
(St. Clair, Mich.) garnered All-GLIAC Second Team honors. Carmen
Schacher also earned an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention selection.
The coaches selected Grand Valley State University to win the
North Division. Preseason voting for the South Division resulted in
a tie between Hillsdale College and Wayne State University.
Grand Valley State, the 2008 North Division and GLIAC Tournament
champion, received 24 points, including four of the five
first-place votes it was eligible for. GVSU is closely followed in
the league's North Division race by Northern Michigan
University, which had 20 points and the remaining two first-place
votes. Saginaw Valley State is next with 19 points while Ferris
State University sits in fourth with 13 points.
Michigan Technological University finished fifth with nine points
and Lake Superior State University owns the sixth spot with five
points.
Hillsdale and Wayne State share the first place spot in the South
Division with a total of 22 points. Hillsdale received three
first-place votes compared to Wayne State's two. Ashland
University received the remaining first-place vote and finished
with 17 points to finish third in the South Division voting.
Last season's South Division regular season champion
Northwood University is listed in fourth place with 15 points. The
University of Findlay finished in the fifth spot with nine points
while Tiffin University appears at number six in the South Division
with five points.
Each of the GLIAC's 12 coaches voted for the division in
which they play, but were not allowed to vote for their own team.
First-place votes were worth five points, second-place were worth
four, etc.
The Cardinals look to build on their strong 2008 campaign, having
a GLIAC title and a further run into the NCAA Playoffs in mind for
the 2009 season.
SVSU opens GLIAC play Sept. 11 when it hosts Northern Michigan for
a 7:00 pm contest. The GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals will begin
Nov. 11 at campus sites, with the semifinals and finals taking
place Nov. 14-15 on the campus of the highest remaining seed.
