(Posted August 25, 2004)

Huntingdon, Pa. - The Juniata College women's volleyball team has been picked third in the CSTV/AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 poll Preseason Poll.

Juniata, which earned one first-place vote and 371 points overall, is behind defending National Champion Washington University (Mo.) and NCAA runner-up New York University in the poll. The Eagles were just two points shy of NYU which earned 373 points and three first-place tallies, and 15 points behind Washington which received 12 first-place votes.

The Eagles finished the 2003 season ranked fourth in the nation, and return five starters from the team that posted an undefeated regular season before losing in the NCAA quarterfinals to New York. Among the returning players are first-team AVCA All-Americans Carli Dale (Cochranton/Cochranton) and Katie Laucks (West York/York) along with All-Region selections Katie Charles (Manheim Township/Lancaster) and Stephanie Kines (Towson/Towson, Md.).

Juniata is scheduled to play five teams ranked in the preseason top-25 during the regular season. The schedule includes a match-up with to-ranked Washington, ninth-ranked Trinity (Tx.) and eighth-ranked Wittenberg (Ohio) at the Teri Clemons Invitational in St. Louis. Juniata will also host Wittenberg in its season-opening ASICS Invitational, and will face Trinity for a second time at Trinity's Invitational in late October. The Eagles will also face fifth-ranked Ohio Northern at the Trinity Invitational, and round out their top-25 matches with a home match against 25th-ranked Springfield (Mass.).

The Eagles open the season with a match against Frostburg State on September 3 as part of the ASICS Invitational.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.