2010 Preseason OVC Volleyball Release (PDF)

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- With the official start of the season set to begin in less than a month, the Eastern Illinois volleyball squad will arrive to campus to begin preseason workouts this coming weekend.

Under the leadership of head coach Kate Price, the Panthers return nine letterwinners, including five starters -- sophomore Stephanie Arnold, junior Brittany Wallace, and seniors Kylie Cavanah, Jorie Dieter, and Alex Zwettler, from last season's squad that more than doubled the previous season's win total and finished in eighth place in the conference standings at 11-20 overall.

Besides additional returnees Chrissie Albers, Alison Berens, Erin Hake, and Kelsey Orr, six newcomers will also look to make an immediate impact to the success of the squad this year.

According to the recent release of the 2010 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, as voted on by the league head coaches and sports information directors, EIU is again projected to finish in eighth place, while outside hitter Alex Zwettler is the lone Panther to earn a spot on the preseason lineup, as the Madison, Wisc., native is one of nine senior league players named to the 14-member unit.

Zwettler previously earned All-Newcomer kudos following an outstanding rookie campaign in 2007 where she set a new EIU freshman kill mark via 355 put-a-ways, which still remains in the Panther record books. The past two years she has led all Panthers in total kill numbers, while also tallying a team-high 39 career double-double kill-dig performances. Besides tallying 15+ kills and/or digs in 23 and 20 matches, respectively, she also notched 15 or more match points 27 times, which also tops all returning players.

Over the course of her career, she has earned a spot on five All-Tournament squads, and in 2009 alone, has led or tied the team in kills or points 19 and 16 times, respectively. Zwettler needs just 38 more kills and 117 additional digs to add her name to both of EIU's prestigious 1,000 Kill and 1,000 Dig Clubs.

"Alex was a key player for us last year and she deserves the recognition,” said Price. “I think she will be a big key to our success this year.”

Team-wise, Morehead State has been tabbed as the squad to beat this season, as the Eagles received 11 first place votes, followed closely by the 2009 regular-season and tourney champ Jacksonville State, via nine top votes. Murray State is slated to finish third, with Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech chosen to end up in the top five. Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri are predicted to place just ahead of the Panthers's eighth place ranking, while Tennessee State and UT Martin round out the ten-team poll.

Following preseason workouts, the Panthers will officially open the 2010 season by playing in three consecutive September weekend tournaments, first traveling to the northeast to participate in the five-squad Harvard Tournament, followed by three matches at the Michigan State Invitational, prior to battling four additional teams at the Pitt Invitational.

Eastern will then have 21 regular-season contests on tap, including a full 18-match home and way Ohio Valley Conference slate, with ten matches to be played in the friendly confines of Lantz Arena.

“I am excited about starting preseason,” Price said, “as I think we have several returning players that have been training hard in the off-season and working on things that we struggled with last year. We also have some incoming players that are used to being the go-to player on their teams, and I think they are kids we may be depending on in the future.”

The main goal for the Panthers this coming season is to earn a spot in the league championship which will be hosted by the regular-season champ in late November. The last time EIU competed in the six-team, season-ending event was back in 2005 when the Panthers played host to the tourney, which determines who will represent the OVC in NCAA Regional play.

2010 PRESEASON ALL-OVC VOLLEYBALL TEAM (Yr., Pos.)
* Caitlin Vorbeck (JSU) … Sr … MB/OH
* Kaitlin Craven (MOR) … Sr … OH
* Leah Meffert (TTU) … Sr … OH
* Sarah Alisaleh (APSU) … Sr … S
* Emma Keough (MOR) … RS-Jr … MB
^ Abby O'Connor (EKU) … Sr … L
^ Jade Guo (MUR) … Jr … S
^ Lauren Synder (EKU) … Sr … OH
^ Kayleah Sauer (MUR) … Jr … L
^ Becca Lamb (MUR) … Sr … OH
Jessica Mollman (APSU) … Sr … MB
ALEX ZWETTLER (EIU) … Sr … OH
Jen Meyer (JSU) … So … OH
Annie Gruenschlaeger (MOR) … So … MB

* - 1st Team All-OVC in 2009; ^ - 2nd Team All-OVC in 2009

2010 OVC VOLLEYBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
… selected by head coaches/SIDs, with first-place votes in parenthesis
1. Morehead State (11) … 153
2. Jacksonville State (9) … 139
3. Murray State … 133
4. Eastern Kentucky … 105
5. Tennessee Tech … 99
6. Austin Peay … 93
7. Southeast Missouri … 65
8. EASTERN ILLINOIS … 41
9. Tennessee State … 39
10. UT Martin … 33

… for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID