Women’s volleyball selected to finish sixth in WCC

BYU Athletic Communications

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — In a little more than three weeks, the 2011 West Coast Conference volleyball season will be under way. In preparation for a schedule with nine schools in the mix, all WCC head coaches were asked to predict the outcome of the season and select the 2011 WCC preseason all-conference team.

Pepperdine received seven first-place votes and a total of 62 points to earn the top spot in the preseason poll. The Waves finished third last year but will return the most preseason all-conference selections of all nine teams. Saint Mary’s and San Diego split the remaining first-place votes, with the Gaels expected to finish second again this year, in front of reigning WCC champion San Diego.

[media-credit name=”Daily Universe file photo” align=”alignleft” width=”196″][/media-credit]

Last year’s fifth-place finisher, Santa Clara, came in ahead of Loyola Marymount and newcomer BYU, securing the fourth-place spot. Loyola Marymount secured fourth place in the WCC last season, while BYU also finished fourth last season in its final year with the Mountain West Conference. Portland and San Francisco shared the seventh-place spot in the preseason poll, while Gonzaga landed in ninth.

Five of the nine schools are represented on the preseason all-conference team. Seven of the 10 student-athletes on the list were also named All-WCC First Team members last spring.

2011 WCC PRESEASON POLL

1. Pepperdine – 62 (7)

2. Saint Mary’s – 55 (1)

3. San Diego – 52 (1)

4. Santa Clara – 43

5. Loyola Marymount – 35

6. BYU – 31

T7. Portland – 19

T7. San Francisco – 19

9. Gonzaga – 8

(First place votes)

2011 WCC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Christie Carpenter, BYU

Lauren Corp, Saint Mary’s

Chloe Ferrari, San Diego

Lilla Frederick, Pepperdine

Kim Hill, Pepperdine

Gabby Jolly, Saint Mary’s

Jasmine Rankins, Loyola Marymount

Stevi Robinson, Pepperdine

Dana Knudsen, Santa Clara

Tanya Schmidt, Santa Clara