DC Volleyball Has Five Named to HCAC Preseason Watch List

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The 2010 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll was announced on Thursday by the league office, with the Defiance College volleyball team getting picked to finish in fifth in the league. The Yellow Jackets also placed five student-athletes on the HCAC Watch List.

Defiance racked up 22 wins during the 2009 campaign for its highest win total in a single season since 2003. The 22-11 overall record also marked the second-straight winning campaign for the Jackets.

DC is poised to continue its winning ways, after returning 12 letterwinners and five starters from one year ago. The squad will be led by HCAC Preseason Players to Watch, Heather Bradshaw, Julie Brunsman, Kelsey Ferguson, Sara Porter and Marlea Rolander.

Brunsman and Ferguson will return for their senior seasons to continue fueling the Defiance attack from the setter position. The duo combined for nearly 95 percent of the team's assists last season and also represented two of DC's toughest servers on the roster.

Bradshaw will be used as a defensive specialist and libero once again. The senior battled injuries to collect 242 digs in 2009 and boasts the highest career dig total on the 2010 squad with 1,168 digs in 298 sets.

While the offense will run through Brunsman and Ferguson, the firepower will be largely provided by the All-HCAC tandem of Porter and Rolander. Porter piled up 213 kills, 337 digs and 28 blocks in 2009 and will be DC's primary outside threat in her senior season, while Rolander will hope to improve on her breakout sophomore season in which she racked up 240 kills and 122 blocks from the middle blocker position.

Defiance garnered 60 points in the coaches' poll to place fifth in the preseason rankings. Bluffton netted all 10 first-place votes and took the top spot with 100 points, while Mount St. Joseph (89), Hanover (73), Rose-Hulman (63) and DC rounded out the top five. The rankings were closed out by Anderson (49), Transylvania (47), Manchester (30), Franklin (25) and Earlham (14).

The Jackets will get the 2010 campaign underway on September 3 and 4 at the Ohio Northern Tournament, before hosting the 11th-Annual DC Invitational on September 10 and 11.