NMU Volleyball picked to finish 8th in GLIAC
Courtesy of the GLIAC
BAY CITY, Mich. – If the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll is any indication, it appears the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) race will be another hard-fought battle from start to finish – where every match will hold great meaning.
In the preseason AVCA national poll, defending GLIAC Tournament and regular-season South Division champion Hillsdale College is tied for 10th while Ferris, the defending regular-season champion, is ranked 14th in the nation.
The GLIAC race figures to feature tough battles nearly every time out in one of the nation’s premier Division II volleyball conference. In addition to the preseason national rankings for the Chargers and Bulldogs, Grand Valley State was listed among “Others Receiving Votes” in the poll released on Aug. 14.
In the preseason GLIAC poll, the coaches tabbed Ferris State University to win the 2012 GLIAC title, outdistancing second-place Hillsdale College by a 211-193 tally. The Bulldogs garnered 10 first-place votes while the Chargers earned just three.
GLIAC volleyball teams open play on Friday, Aug. 31 with conference play beginning Sunday, Sept. 30. The 2012 GLIAC Volleyball Tournament will begin with quarterfinals on Nov. 14 on campus sites, with the semifinals and final held on Nov. 17-18 on the campus of the No. 1 seed.
Full release on GLIAC website with team previews
2012 GLIAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
School (first-place votes) Points
1. Ferris State (10) 211
2. Hillsdale (3) 193
3. Grand Valley State (1) 176
4. Saginaw Valley State (1) 173
5. Wayne St. 168
6. Ashland 167
7. Northwood 156
8. Northern Mich 152
9. Findlay 115
10. Ohio Dominican 93
11. Lake Superior 75
12. Tiffin 73
13. Walsh 54
14. Malone 45
15. Michigan Tech 43
16. Lake Erie 25