Aug. 11, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eastern Kentucky, the 2004 Ohio Valley Conference regular season co-champion and tournament champion, has been picked to take the 2005 league crown, according to a poll of league coaches. The Lady Colonels had seven first-place votes and a total of 97 points. Jacksonville State picked up the remaining four first-place votes and a total of 91 points, good for second.

After going just 5-21 last year and 3-13 in league play, Samford was picked to finish ninth, ahead of Murray State and Tennessee State. Five players return for the Bulldogs: senior Courtney Keen, juniors Callaway Logan and Abby Sites, and sophomores Robin Bishop and Angela Dempski. Six highly-touted freshmen will be added to the mix this season. In May, the group was named as one of the top 85 recruiting classes in the country by PrepVolleyball.com.

A full list of the preseason team poll and All-Conference teams are below.

The top six teams after regular season action will play in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at campus sites Nov. 18-20. Samford opens its season at the Trojan Spiketacular in Troy, Ala., against North Florida on Aug. 27.

2005 OVC VOLLEYBALL PREDICTED TEAM ORDER OF FINISH
(as Selected by OVC Head Volleyball Coaches)

1. Eastern Kentucky (Seven first-place votes) 97 pts.
2. Jacksonville State (Four first-place votes) 91 pts.
3. Eastern Illinois 79 pts.
4. Southeast Missouri 64 pts.
5. Austin Peay 60 pts.
6. Morehead State 57 pts.
7. Tennessee Tech 51 pts.
8. Tennessee-Martin 40 pts.
9. Samford 26 pts.
10. Murray State 25 pts.
11. Tennessee State 14 pts.

2005 PRESEASON ALL-OVC VOLLEYBALL TEAM
(as Selected by OVC Head Volleyball Coaches)

FIRST TEAM
NAME, SCHOOL POS. CL. HT. HOMETOWN
Liz Guard, Eastern Kentucky* MB Sr. 6'0 Willoughby, Ohio
Maren Crabtree, Eastern Illinois# S So. 5'8 Muncie, Ind.
Shari Weyer, Jacksonville State* MB Jr. 6'4 Ferdinand, Ind.
Abbey Breit, Jacksonville State* MB So. 5'10 Louisville, Ky.
Megan Kennedy, Eastern Illinois# MH Sr. 6'1 LaGrange, Ill.
Jessica Koeper, Southeast Missouri# OH Jr. 5'10 Jackson, Mo.

SECOND TEAM
Brittany Nobilio, Eastern Kentucky LIB So. 5'5 Johnsburg, Ill.
Kelly Jennings, Eastern Kentucky# S Jr. 5'8 Barrington, Ill.
Diana Zipp, Morehead State MH Jr. 5'11 Jeffersonville, Ind.
Anne Morrow, Tennessee Tech OH Sr. 5'11 Springfield, Ohio
Laura Wussow, Austin Peay MH Jr. 5'10 Black Creek, Wis.
Kathryn Sprague, Tennessee-Martin MB So. 6'4 Ballwin, Mo.

* - 1st Team All-OVC in 2004
# - 2nd Team All-OVC in 2004