The Southwestern University Volleyball team will start the season as the team to beat in the conference as the Pirates were voted into the eighth place spot with 413 points in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Preseason Poll. The eighth place ranking is highest of any Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference school and is one slot higher than the Pirates finished in 2008.

Head Coach Hannah Long returns 12 letterwinners from last year’s squad that finished with a 36-5 overall record and lost to the eventual national champion, Emory, in the Regional Final match. Emory took the top spot in the 2009 AVCA Preseason Poll with 20 first place votes and 595 points.

Juniata College took the second position with 555 points and one first-place vote. 2008 NCAA runner-up La Verne is No. 3 with 550 points while Wisconsin-Oshkosh (521 pts.) and Washington University (495 pts.) round out the top five.

Ohio Northern, who the Pirates face early on at the Ohio Northern Tournament on September 5th, is sixth in the poll (479 pts.) and Carthage is in the seventh slot with 446 points.

The Pirates will begin their 2009 campaign at home on September 1st against the University of Dallas at 6:00 pm.