Cleveland State picked to win 2008 Horizon League volleyball regular season title
Aug. 19, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Cleveland State University have been picked to win the Horizon League regular season title in the 2008 preseason volleyball coaches' poll. The Vikings received the maxium 64 total points and eight first-place votes from the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own team.
Valparaiso University, which finished runner-up to Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championship a year ago, finished second with 56 points and one first-place vote. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which has won the regular-season league title the past five years, placed third with 50 points.
The University of Illinois at Chicago took fourth with 38 points. Butler University placed fifth with 31 points. Youngstown State University finished sixth with 27 points. Wright State University finished seventh with 24 points. Loyola University Chicago (20) and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (14) rounded out the poll finishing eighth and ninth, respectively.
Cleveland State captured its first Horizon League Championship in school history to earn a bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. During the 2007 regular season, the Vikings posted a 13-3 league record and a 23-9 overall mark. CSU's 23 wins were the most victories in a single season in 24 years. If the poll proves to be correct, Cleveland State would capture its first league title in school history.
The Vikings return five starters from last year's squad including 2007 Newcomer of the Amy Benz. During her freshman campaign, Benz led the conference with a .340 hitting percentage en route to receiving All-League honors.
CSU also returns former Newcomer of the Year Jenni Ramminger (2005) and Beth Greulich (2006). Greulich (.307) and Ramminger (.286) were also in the league's top five in hitting percentage. In addition, Greulich joined Benz on last year's All-League team.
Valparaiso will begin its second season in the Horizon League in 2008. Last season, the Crusaders posted a 9-7 league mark (21-12 overall) to tie for third place. This season, Valpo returns four starters, including junior Angie Porché and senior Brittany Malicoat, who were both named to the 2007 All-League Team.
Malicoat was also selected as the Defensive Player of the Year after she led the league with 740 digs (5.78 dpg) smashing the previous conference mark of 579 (Stacy Gilligan, Duquesne, 1992).
UWM enters the year in the hopes of capturing its sixth-consecutive regular-season crown. The Panthers registered their league record fifth-straight conference crown in 2007 after it posted a mark of 15-1 (26-3 overall) under the direction of first-year head coach Susie Johnson, who was named Coach of the Year.
Despite last year's success, Milwaukee will have to fill the void left by three seniors including Horizon League Player of the Year Leanne Felsing. Natalie Schmitting returns for her sophomore season after she earned All-League and All-Newcomer honors during her freshman campaign. Schmitting tallied 276 kills and ranked in the league's top 10 in hitting percentage.
All nine schools open regular-season action on Friday, Aug. 29. Horizon League play begins Tuesday, Sept. 19.
The 2008 Horizon League Volleyball Championship is set for Nov. 20-23 in Cleveland, Ohio. The event spans four days and features a single elimination format. The tournament champion will receive the league's automatic bid to the 28th annual NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.
NOTE: The Preseason standings can be found in the .PDF version of this release
