Lutes Picked to Repeat Volleyball Title in 2000
| NWC Volleyball Coaches' Pre-Season Poll: |
1999 records |
| School |
(1st) |
Pts. |
All |
NWC |
| 1. Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) |
(8) |
88 |
20-6 |
13-3 |
| 2. Puget Sound (Wash.) |
(1) |
63 |
10-14 |
7-9 |
| 3. George Fox (Ore.) |
|
58 |
19-7 |
12-4 |
| 4. Willamette (Ore.) |
|
54 |
17-9 |
12-4 |
| 5. Whitworth (Wash.) |
|
49 |
11-14 |
8-8 |
| 6. Whitman (Wash.) |
|
41 |
15-12 |
11-5 |
| 7. Linfield (Ore.) |
|
34 |
10-13 |
6-10 |
| 8. Pacific (Ore.) |
|
14 |
7-16 |
3-13 |
| 9. Lewis & Clark (Ore.) |
|
13 |
0-24 |
0-16 |
(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 10-8-7-5-4-3-2-1 basis).
Defending champion Pacific Lutheran University is a near unanimous choice of Northwest Conference coaches to repeat as league volleyball titlists in 2000. The Lutes, who return a pair of Second Team All-NWC front line players but lost First Team setter Ingrid Lindeblad to graduation, received eight out of nine possible first place votes and totaled 88 total points, well ahead of the rest of the pack. Head Coach Kevin Aoki, the 1999 NWC Coach of the Year, led the Lutes to the second round of the NCAA III playoffs last season.
The University of Puget Sound received the other first place vote and finished second in the poll with 63 points. The Loggers will look to senior First Team All-NWC hitter Eileen Gamache to lead a run at PLU.
George Fox University and Willamette University, which both went down to the final weekend with PLU in the chase for last season's conference title, were picked to finish in third and fourth places, respectively. Both teams must overcome key losses to graduation in their quest for a title. Sharon Barnett, the 1999 NWC Player of the Year, and First Team All-NWC middle blocker Beth Davis have graduated from George Fox. Willamette lost First Team outside hitter Renee Purdy.
Whitworth College, which returns its top eight players from last season, was picked to finish in fifth place. Whitman College, a playoff contender last season, was picked to finish sixth after heavy losses to graduation, including First Team middle blocker Barby Ream.
Linfield College was picked seventh despite the return of Second Team All-NWC middle blocker Anna Gradek. Pacific University and Lewis & Clark College were selected eighth and ninth, respectively, which mirrors the teams' finishes last season.
The season gets underway September 1st.