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Stevens Favored to Continue Empire 8 Success
ROCHESTER, NY – Stevens Institute of Technology, which has
won the conference
title in each of its first three seasons, is the unanimous
preseason favorite in the coaches’
poll to capture the Empire 8 Volleyball Championship again this
year. The Ducks have
won all 30 matches against conference opponents since joining the
Empire 8, including
24 regular season victories and six postseason wins.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Byrne was named Empire 8 Player of
the Year and outside
hitter Maggie Kowalska was chosen as Empire 8 Rookie of the Year a
year ago with each
making the all-conference first team. Byrne averaged 3.8 kills and
3.0 digs per set
overall and was named Most Valuable Player of the conference
tournament, while
Kowalska averaged 3.4 kills per set and hit .318 in conference
play.
Nazareth College, seeking its first Empire 8 Volleyball
Championship title since 2006, is
the coaches’ choice to place second. The four-time Empire 8
champion Golden Flyers
finished 7-1 in regular season conference play for the second
consecutive year in 2009.
Nazareth must replace all-conference first-team players Katleynn
Reed and Kate Zwickl
as well as Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year Mallorie
Clary.
Ithaca College, which advanced to the conference championship
last season, is predicted
to finish third this year. The Bombers captured the ECAC Metro
Upstate Championship
a year ago and will need to replace all-conference setter Corinna
Doctor and second-team
outside hitter Rachel Busch.
This season’s two conference weekends in which all
conference matches will take place
will be hosted by Rochester Institute of Technology Sept. 25-26 and
by Ithaca Oct. 22-
23. The championship tournament featuring the top four teams in
regular season play
will be hosted by the top seed on Nov. 6.
St. John Fisher College, RIT, and Elmira College all battled for
the final spot in the
conference tournament last year and the coaches’ poll
indicates the same thing may
happen this season. The Cardinals are predicted to finish fourth
with RIT fifth and
Elmira sixth.
Senior middle blocker Sydney Kandefer of the Cardinals earned
first-team all-conference
honors last season and was a second-team selection as a sophomore.
She averaged 2.2
kills and one block per set. John Tuttle takes over the helm of the
program after posting a
218-147 mark at Brockport over 10 years.
Rochester Institute of Technology will be coached by Jim Lodes, who
also coached the
Tigers from 1991-1995. RIT finished .500 in conference play a year
ago and posted 21
wins overall.
Elmira dropped five conference matches in 2009, but four of them
were in the fifth set,
including against conference champion Stevens. Sophomore outside
hitter Sasha
Zavadska earned second-team all-conference honors in her rookie
season, averaging 3.5
kills and 3.8 digs per set. The Soaring Eagles upended St. John
Fisher on their way to the
title match of the ECAC Metro Upstate Championship.
Hartwick College is the coaches’ selection to finish
seventh this season. Middle blocker
Courtney Desmond has earned honorable mention all-conference
recognition in each of
her first two seasons.
Utica College is the coaches’ choice to place eighth this
season with Alfred University
predicted to finish ninth. The Pioneers and Alfred University split
two matches a year
ago with Utica winning the conference match in three sets. The
Saxons will be led by
new coach Ron Higgins.
2010 Empire 8 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Stevens Institute of Technology 64 points
2. Nazareth College 56
3. Ithaca College 49
4. St. John Fisher College 39
5. Rochester Institute of Technology 37
6. Elmira College 34
7. Hartwick College 22
8. Utica College 13
9. Alfred University 10
