August 19, 2010

Bruins Picked to Finish Third in Atlantic Sun, Johnson Named Preseason All-Conference

MACON, Ga. - - The Atlantic Sun Conference announced the results of the annual volleyball coaches' preseason poll on Thursday. Belmont was picked to finish third in league standings, just six points behind Florida Gulf Coast in second place. League coaches picked reining regular season and tournament champion Lipscomb to repeat as the conference's top team and tournament champion.

Junior outside hitter Maggie Johnson (Naperville, Ill.) was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Johnson was a 2009 First Team All-Conference selection last season. Johnson led the Bruins in kills and attacks last season with 427 and 1217 respectively. She also started every set of the 2009 season as a sophomore.

 "Maggie had a good season last year," Head Coach Deane Webb said Thursday, "and came in stronger this season. I'm eager to see what successes our team will have, and also to see how Maggie's development as a more mature player will affect our team."
 
The Bruins will look to rally behind Johnson's strong arm and the leadership of five returning seniors and nine returning letterwinners to make a return to the top of the conference standings.
 

"Our goal this year, as it is every year, is to win our conference tournament and advance to the NCAA tourney," Webb said. "Conference regular season is an important piece of our schedule as both the seeding earned and the competing played in conference games prepares us for what is ahead."

With a combination of returning experience and the addition of five new freshmen looking to challenge for playing time, Belmont looks forward to a competitive conference season.

"It is particularly exciting to see the strength of our conference, and to see the gains that have been made by all of the teams in the A-Sun," Webb said. "After making a remarkable seven spot conference RPI gain in 2009, I am hopeful we can continue our growth (as a conference) in 2010."

Lipscomb and FGCU were the only teams with multiple players selected to the preseason squad. Lipscomb was represented by three players, including Preseason Player of the Year Jake Pease, while FGCU placed two players on the team.

Preseason Poll                                                   Preseason All-Conference

Pl.            School (1st)             Points                       Pos.          Name                       School 

1.              Lipscomb (10)          120                         OH         Meghan Hinemeyer     Lipscomb

2.              Florida Gulf Coast    103                       OH         Maggie Johnson        Belmont  

3.             Belmont                   97                        MB         * Alex Kelly                 Lipscomb

4.              Jacksonville (1)        90                        S          Stefine "Jake" Pease   Lipscomb

5.              Kennesaw State      67                        OH         Paige Pridgeon           UNF

6.              Campbell                 60                        OH         * Jelena Simic             FGCU

7.              ETUSY                      59                        OH          Emily Werner             Campbell

8.              Mercer                     49                        L            Holly Youngquist         FGCU

9.              North Florida            47

10.            USC Upstate            22

11.            Stetson                    12

Tournament Champion: Lipscomb (10 votes)