Volleyball Picked Fourth in 2002 Centennial Conference Pre-Season Coaches Poll

by Sports Information
8/23/02

Lancaster, Pa.- Franklin & Marshall College is picked to finish fourth in the 2002 Centennial Conference Volleyball season according to the Conference's head coaches.

Gettysburg College heads the list in the 2002 Centennial Conference Volleyball poll. The Bullets are the defending Centennial Conference Champions and are looking to add another title to their seven previous conference crowns.

Gettysburg received seven first-place votes for a total of 95 points following a 2001 campaign in which they ended up 28-8 on the year.

Muhlenberg finds themselves picked second with two first-place votes and 88 points. The Mules finished the 2001 season with a record of 20-11 overall and 8-2 in Conference.

Only two points separate Johns Hopkins and Franklin and Marshall for the third and fourth spot in the poll. The Blue Jays earned 75 points while the Diplomats received 73. Both schools accepted a berth into the ECAC Championships in 2001 but Grove City was the spoiler for each. Hopkins fell 3-1 in the first round while F&M was eliminated 3-0 in the semifinal round. Haverford garnered two first place votes and received 68 total points to grab the fifth spot in the poll

McDaniel (63), Dickinson (48), Ursinus (33), Swarthmore (26), Bryn Mawr (18) and Washington (18) rounded out the poll.

Franklin & Marshall College concluded the 2001 volleyball season 22-11, fifth in the Centennial Conference with a 7-3 record, while advancing to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championship tournament.

Last season F&M was led by Centennial Conference second team selection Heidi Goedicke who tallied 356 kills in 1,015 attempts. Centennial Conference Honorable Mention setter Jennifer Grue led the team with 1,285 assists, while Kristen Kowalski helped lead a balanced attack compiling 343 kills in 856 attempts.

The Diplomats will open their season on August 31 when they play host to Buffalo State, Moravian, Salisbury, Eastern, Susquehanna, Johns Hopkins and MIT in the F&M Scramble. The Diplomats will play Buffalo State at 10 am in the Mayser Center.