NSIC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll Release
Wayne State College has been selected to finish fourth in the 2010 NSIC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll released Thursday morning by the league office in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Wildcats received a total of 136 points in voting conducted by the league's coaches. Senior middle hitter Jennifer Hefner, a returning All-American, was listed as Wayne State's Player to Watch in the NSIC this season.
Three time defending National Champion Concordia-St. Paul was selected as the pre-season choice with 11 of a possible 14 first place votes and 166 points. Minnesota Duluth had two first place votes and 147 points followed by Minnesota State with the remaining first place vote and 142 points in third. Following Wayne State in the poll was Southwest Minnesota State in fifth with 134 points, Augustana sixth (104), with MSU Moorhead (95), Winona State (76), Upper Iowa (73) and Northern State (62) rounding out the top 10. St. Cloud State (54), Bemidji State (41), Minnesota, Crookston (25) and Mary (19) conclude the preseason coaches poll.
Wayne State's Player to Watch in the NSIC this season is Hefner, a Central City graduate. Last season Hefner averaged 3.72 kills and 1.22 blocks per set while hitting .326 for the season. She led the NSIC in blocks, ranked second in points per set (4.66), was third in kills and seventh in hitting percentage. Hefner ranked 12th in NCAA Division II in blocks per set. She finished the 2009 season as a Second Team AVCA All-American and was a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American with a 3.96 GPA majoring in Applied Human Sport Physiology.
The Wildcats finished the 2009 season with a 29-8 record, advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for the fifth straight season. WSC ended the year ranked 18th in NCAA Division II, the highest ever ranking for a Wildcat volleyball program to end the season. Wayne State opens the 2010 season on September 3-4 at the Rockhurst Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.
