BAY CITY, Mich. - The head women's volleyball coaches of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) have chosen the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals to finish fourth in the North Division for the upcoming 2011 season in preseason balloting. The Cardinals received 22 total votes and finished three votes away from third place pick Ferris State University. Saginaw Valley was also out voted by Grand Valley State University, who was picked to finish second, and Northern Michigan University, who was picked to finish first.
OVERVIEW: Saginaw Valley State finished with a record of 14-12 overall and 9-10 in the league standings, but this is a new year and the Cardinals are hoping to take a step back up into the GLIAC penthouse of success. The Cardinals do return some talent from last season, led by senior outside hitter Annie Buxton, who earned All-GLIAC honors in both her sophomore and junior years. In addition, the Cardinals also will feature middle hitter Katie Fitzgerald as one of its key players this fall. SVSU returns six seniors this season for head coach Will Stanton. SVSU hopes to improve upon its fifth-place finish in the North Division in last fall's race for the GLIAC title.
THE PLAYERS: The Cardinals welcome back a solid core of talented and experienced players led by Buxton, who earned first team All-GLIAC honors last season. Buxton finished last season with 382 kills, 232 digs and 42 total blocks for the Cardinals. Also back is Fitzgerald, who was named to the All-GLIAC second team for her efforts on the court in 2010. Fitzgerald finished with 216 kills and 75 total blocks for SVSU. Also back for the Cardinals is 6-1 senior middle hitter Becky Schroeder, who totaled 134 kills and 91 total blocks.
THE COACH: Stanton is in his ninth season as the head coach of the Cardinals. He is assisted this fall by Kait Harris, Shannon Flippin and Jessica Stanton.
OF INTEREST: During his time at SVSU, Will Stanton has been named the 2008 Midwest Region Coach of the Year as well as GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2007. Prior to becoming the head coach at SVSU, Coach Stanton was head coach at Lake Fenton High School where he led the squad to the 1998 Michigan Class C title.
Complete Preseason Poll (Place, Team, First Place Votes, Points)
North Division
1. Northern Michigan (4) 34
2. Grand Valley State (3) 32
3. Ferris State 25
4. Saginaw Valley State University 22
5. Northwood 15
6. Lake Superior State 10
7. Michigan Tech 9
South Division
1. Hillsdale (6) 36
2. Ashland (1) 29
3. Wayne State 26
4. Findlay 23
5. Tiffin 15
6. Ohio Dominican 11
7. Lake Erie 7
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