Lady Eagles Picked Third in SAC Preseason Volleyball Poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Carson-Newman volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the South Atlantic Conference in a vote of the league's head coaches, conference officials announced Tuesday.

The Lady Eagles received 77 points after finishing second last year and advancing to the championship of the Food Lion SAC Tournament and semifinals of the NCAA Southeast Region tournament. C-N went 23-10 overall and 12-4 in conference play in 2009.

Wingate University, which has won the SAC volleyball championship for the past four years, is the favorite to capture a fifth straight title.

Wingate received eight first-place votes and 98 total points out of a possible 100. Wingate has gone 46-0 against conference opponents during the regular season the past three seasons and has won four consecutive Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournaments.

Catawba is picked to finish second with 82 points. Catawba also received one first-place vote. The Indians advanced to the Southeast Region tournament for the second year in a row last season.

Lincoln Memorial is picked to finish fourth with 69 points.

Tusculum College garnered 58 points to finish fifth in the poll.

Lenoir-Rhyne University is picked to finish sixth with 49 points.

Newberry is the pick to finish seventh with 46 total points.

New conference member Anderson is picked to finish eighth, while Mars Hill is picked to finish ninth with 24 points and Brevard rounds out the poll with 17 points.

The Lady Eagles open the 2010 season on Sept. 3 with two matches in the Francis Marion Invitational. C-N will face Barton at 9 a.m. before closing out the day with a match against UNC-Pembroke at 3 p.m. in Florence, S.C.

The Food Lion SAC Tournament will be held at Catawba, with quarterfinal play on Friday, Nov. 12. The semifinals are Saturday, Nov. 13, with the championship set for Sunday, Nov. 14. The top eight teams in the final regular season standings advance to the conference tournament. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament.

2010 SAC PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL POLL
1. Wingate (8) 98
2. Catawba (1) 82
3. Carson-Newman 77
4. Lincoln Memorial 69
5. Tusculum 58
6. Lenoir-Rhyne 49
7. Newberry (1) 46
8. Anderson 30
9. Mars Hill 24
10. Brevard 17
(First place votes in parenthesis)