University of Delaware Athletics
Two-Time Defending League Champion Blue Hens Picked Second in CAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
8/14/2012 5:34:00 PM | Volleyball
Delaware, which has won the last two conference championships, received 58 points and three first place votes, trailing only Northeastern which garnered 60 points and five first place votes. James Madison was selected third with 48 points and picked up the other first place vote, while Towson came in fourth with 44 points.
Georgia State was selected fifth with 28 points, followed by Hofstra (27), George Mason (22), William & Mary (20), and UNCW (17).
The Blue Hens, led by 11th-year head coach Bonnie Kenny, return four starters from last season's squad that finished 21-13 and won the conference tournament title with a pair of dramatic 3-2 victories over James Madison in the semifinals and VCU in the championship. Delaware then defeated American, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to ninth-ranked Penn State in the second round.
UD will be paced by senior outside hitter Alissa Alker, a first team All-CAA selection a year ago who was named honorable mention AVCA All-East Region. Alker led the Blue Hens with 466.5 total points during her junior campaign, when she ranked second on the squad with 382 kills and third with 384 digs. She reached double figures in kills 20 times on the year, including a season-high 24 during a win at James Madison.
Senior middle hitter Chelsea Lawrence (at right) also returns for the Blue Hens after earning second team all-conference laurels in 2011. Lawrence, who led UD with a .264 hitting percentage a year ago, posted 120 blocks to rank second on the squad and 271 kills to place fourth. Junior outside hitter Katie Hank, whose 397 kills and 3.18 kills per game were team-highs last season, and junior middle hitter Karina Evans, who made a team-best 127 blocks to go with 168 kills, also return after starting all 34 matches a season ago.
The Blue Hens open their 2012 campaign on Friday, August 24 when Delaware takes on San Diego State at 10 p.m. ET at the SDSU Tournament in San Diego, Calif. UD then faces California the following afternoon, before three matches at the University of Virginia Tournament on Aug. 31-Sept. 1.
Delaware, which will play all of its home matches in the Bob Carpenter Center for the first time in 2012, opens its home schedule with the University of Delaware Invitational on Sept. 7-8. The Blue Hens will take on Columbia at 12 noon and Texas A&M at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7, before facing Xavier at 7 p.m. the following night.
2012 Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Northeastern - 60 points (5 first place votes)
2. Delaware - 58 (3)
3. James Madison - 48 (1)
4. Towson - 44
5. Georgia State - 28
6. Hofstra - 27
7. George Mason - 22
8. William & Mary - 20
9. UNCW - 17
