Lakeland College

Muskie women's volleyball picked eighth in NAC preseason poll

Athletics - posted on 8/28/2012

WAUKESHA - The Lakeland College women's volleyball team is predicted to finish eighth in the Northern Athletic Conference in 2012 based on a preseason poll of league coaches released by the conference.

The Muskies received 71 points in the poll, ranking eighth of 13 teams. Defending conference regular season champion Dominican (Ill.) University was chosen as league favorites after receiving 168 points as well as 12 of the 13 first-place votes.

Edgewood (Wis.) University, the defending NAC Tournament champions, finished second in the poll with 152 points and received the other first-place vote. Benedictine (Ill.) University was third with 146 points, with Maranatha Baptist Bible (Wis.) College fourth with 115 points and Wisconsin Lutheran College (113 points) rounding out the top five.

Dominican won the 2011 regular season title with a 12-0 NAC record. Edgewood finished third in the regular season last year with a 9-3 mark but defeated Dominican in five sets in the tournament final to win the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship.

Lakeland finished 9-21 overall last year and with a 6-6 NAC mark tied Concordia Chicago for sixth in the NAC. The Muskies will be led in 2012 by first year Head Coach Kim Bukowski, and five of six starters return from last year's team, including Honorable Mention All-NAC middle blocker Amanda Dillman (Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.).

2012 Northern Athletics Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Dominican (12), 168
2. Edgewood (1), 152
3. Benedictine, 146
4. Maranatha, 115
5. Wisconsin Lutheran, 113
6. Concordia Chicago, 94
7. Concordia Wisconsin, 85
8. Lakeland, 71
9. Marian, 67
10. Aurora, 59
11. Rockford, 56
12. MSOE, 43
13. Alverno, 14