Women's Volleyball Seeded Third in Skyline Preseason Poll
Lawrenceville, N.J. – The Farmingdale State
women's volleyball team has been seeded third in the Skyline
Conference Preseason Poll, which was released today by the
conference office.
As a newcomer to the Skyline Conference last season, Sage was a
bit of an unknown to the other conference teams. The Gators, who
went 9-0 en route to the Skyline championship and dropped just one
set in 11 matches against conference foes last season, will not
sneak up on anyone this season. Sage has been selected as the
Skyline Conference preseason favorite in women’s volleyball
as selected by the league’s head coaches.
The Gators lost three seniors from last season's Skyline
championship team, including all-conference libero Shannon Young,
but a number of key players return to lead the team in its quest of
a second straight NCAA tournament bid. Senior setter Kaitlin
Olmstead, who drives the Sage offense, led the conference with
10.38 assists per game last season. Junior outside hitter Krista
Provost (2.96 kills, 3.74 digs) also returns as one of the
conference's top players. Sophomore Nicole Corbett (1.06 blocks),
one of the top middle hitters in the conference as a freshman last
season, should figure prominently as well. All three players were
All-Skyline first-team selections last year.
Polytechnic University was picked seventh in the preseason poll
last season, but finished second in the regular-season thanks to
the outstanding play of outside hitter Meredith Shipman (4.82
kills, 3.69 digs). Shipman, who hit .376 as a freshman last season,
was selected as both the Skyline Conference's Player and Rookie of
the Year. An influx of new players around Shipman should put the
Blue Jays in position to challenge Sage for the conference
title.
Farmingdale State, picked third in the preseason
poll, has been one of the Skyline Conference's top teams each of
the last two years. The Rams will be young this season, but have
the talent to compete with the top teams in the conference. Cathryn
McLean (4.09 kills, 3.87 digs) was a first team All-Skyline
selection last season.
Mount Saint Mary was the only team to win a set against Sage last
season. The Blue Knights welcome back a pair of all-conference
players in senior outside hitter Amanda Carfora and junior setter
Katie Toole.
SKYLINE CONFERENCE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
2008 PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Place, Team, Points
1. Sage (7) 79
2. Polytechnic (2) 72
3. Farmingdale State (1) 68
4. Mount Saint Mary 57
5. Mount Saint Vincent 45
6. Old Westbury 42
7. St. Joseph's-L.I. 31
8. Bard 28
9. Purchase 18
10. Maritime 10
(first-place votes in parentheses)
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