(Posted August 17, 2011)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College women's volleyball will enter its 2011 season ranked sixth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, which was unveiled on Wednesday.

The Eagles, coming off a 34-6 season in which they reached the NCAA national semifinals, received 463 points in the poll and did not receive any first-place votes.

A ranking of sixth is the lowest initial ranking for Juniata women's volleyball since the 1999 season, when the Eagles launched their campaign ranked 15th in the AVCA's first poll.

Defending national champion Calvin College took 23 of a possible first-place votes, and was first with 599 points. Emory University was second with 577 points and one first-place vote. Washington-St. Louis was third with 552 points, while Christopher Newport University (511 points) and Wittenberg University (490 points) rounded out the top five.

Juniata, led by first-year head coach Heather Pavlik, open their 2011 slate on Friday, Sept. 2, when it faces Hanover College at 6:00 p.m. at the Wittenberg National Invitational in Springfield, Ohio. The Eagles will face No. 2 Emory and No. 5 Wittenberg on day two of the event.

AVCA Division III Women's Volleyball
2011 Preseason Poll

Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Points, 2010 Record, 2010 Final Rank
1. Calvin (23), 599, 32-4, 1
2. Emory (1), 577, 36-4, 2
3. Washington-St. Louis, 552, 35-4, 3
4. Christopher Newport, 511, 38-3, 5
5. Wittenberg, 490, 32-3, 6
6. Juniata, 463, 34-6, 4
7. Eastern (Pa.), 453, 30-5, 8
8. Cal Lutheran, 428, 29-4, 13
9. Wisconsin-Platteville, 384, 33-4, 9
10. St. Thomas (Minn.), 357, 30-7, 7
11. Carthage, 346, 31-8, 14
12. Heidelberg, 298, 33-6, 15
13. Colorado College, 273, 30-7, 16
14. Concordia (Minn.), 254, 24-7, 20
15. Hope, 224, 27-5, 10
16. St. Olaf, 217, 31-5, 11
17. Southwestern (Texas), 209, 32-7, 19
18. Whitworth, 171, 18-7, 24
19. UMass-Boston, 150, 30-5, 17
20. Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 126, 25-10, 18
21. NYU, 115, 38-6, 12
22. Puget Sound, 109, 18-7, NR
23. Occidental, 101, 25-8, NR
24. Wisconsin-Whitewater, 93, 28-9, 21
25. Chicago, 79, 30-13, NR

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