Preseason volleyball rankings have Eastern at No. 9 in BSC

 

Last updated 8/17/2017 at 12:12pm



Following its second consecutive Big Sky Conference Tournament appearance, the Eastern Washington University volleyball team has been picked ninth in the 2017 BSC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the conference announced on Aug. 11.

The Eagles earned 44 total points from the league coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own squad.

Defending champions North Dakota was picked as the preseason favorite with 120 points and 10 first place votes. Northern Colorado was tabbed to finish second with 103 points and two first place votes.

Eastern Washington opens the 2017 campaign at the UNLV Tournament on Aug. 25 where they face UC Davis and Binghamton University (Binghampton, NY.) on the opening day of competition before playing hosts UNLV on Aug. 26. The home, and conference, opener takes place on Sept. 21 against Montana, followed by a Sept. 23 matchup against Montana State.

“I am not too caught up with the ranking. I believe at the end of the day the parity in this conference is high, anyone can beat anyone and you have to be prepared every night,” head coach Michael King said.

King is entering his second full season at the helm of the program. King coached the Eagles to a 13-13 overall record (8-8 Big Sky) in 2016, finishing third in the north division of the conference. EWU also landed a spot in the BSC Tournament for the second straight season.

The Eagles return two starters in seniors Chloe Weber and Ashley Seiler. Seniors Megan LaFond and Regan Harr, along with junior Taylor Larsen and sophomore Hannah Absalonson round out the returning group.

The 2017 roster is full of fresh faces, as the Eagles have added 10 newcomers. Freshmen Catelyn Linke (Pasco), Emma Dunn (Salt Lake City, Utah), Leanna Shymanski (Kennewick), MaKenna Davis (Parker, Colo.), Jayde Robertsen (Tsawwassen, B.C.) and Letarona Mose (Long Beach, Calif.) along with transfers Kahle Elliott (Austin, Tex./Seattle U), Katie Hoffman (Bellevue/Iowa Central CC), Ashelyn Jones (Honolulu, Hawaii/College of Southern Idaho) and Alexandra Espinosa (Sunnyvale, Calif./College of Southern Idaho) all look to make immediate impacts for Eastern.

2017 Big Sky Conference

Preseason Volleyball Poll

Rank/Team Votes

1. North Dakota 120 (10)

2. N. Colorado 103 (2)

3. Sac. State 99

4. No. Arizona 96

5. Portland State 82

6. Idaho State 71

7. Idaho 63

8. Weber State 49

9. E. Washington 44

10. Montana State 24

11. Montana 21

12. Southern Utah 20

(irst-place votes in parentheses)

 

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