FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 5, 2008

Southern volleyball picked to finish eighth in 11 team MIAA

Kansas City, Mo. -- The Missouri Southern volleyball team has been picked to finish eighth in the 2008 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll as announced by the league office today.

Southern, 15-17 a season ago, finished in fourth place in the MIAA west, securing a spot in the MIAA Tournament. The tournament, as well as divisional play is gone with the entry of league newcomer Nebraska-Omaha and Truman has been tabbed as the favorite for the 2008 season.

The Bulldogs received five first place votes for 93 points and were followed by Washburn, Pittsburg State, Central Missouri and Emporia State to round out the top five. UNO, Northwest Missouri, Southern, Fort Hays, Southwest Baptist and Missouri Western round out the 11-team league.

The Lions return ten letter winners from a season ago and five starters, including honorable mention All-MIAA Libero Keri Hammerbacher. Southern opens up the 2008 season in San Antonio, Texas playing in the St. Mary's Tournament on August 28-29.

2008 MIAA Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
    School                          Pts
  1. Truman (5)...................... 93
  2. Washburn (2).................... 88
  3. Pittsburg State (3)............. 84
  4. Central Missouri (1)............ 72
  5. Emporia State................... 70
  6. Nebraska-Omaha.................. 56
  7. Northwest Missouri State........ 41
  8. Missouri Southern............... 34
  9. Fort Hays State................. 32
 10. Southwest Baptist............... 19
 11. Missouri Western................ 16
   
Points awarded on an 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Coaches could not vote for their own school.

2007 Final MIAA Standings

                                       MIAA                Overall
East Division                    W  L  GW  GL   Pct    W  L  GW  GL   Pct
x-Truman (8)                    12  1  38   9  .923 | 36  6 116  40  .857
Central Missouri (10)            9  4  31  14  .692 | 31  7  97  31  .816
Northwest Missouri State         6  7  23  24  .462 | 17 17  66  59  .500
Missouri Western                 2 11  10  36  .154 | 10 22  41  74  .313
Southwest Baptist                2 11   9  37  .154 |  8 24  30  81  .250
  
                                       MIAA                Overall
West Division                    W  L  GW  GL   Pct    W  L  GW  GL   Pct
Washburn (3)                    12  1  36  13  .923 | 38  4 118  32  .905
Emporia State (15)              10  3  35  15  .769 | 27  9  92  41  .750
Pittsburg State (18)             8  5  32  20  .615 | 28  9  94  38  .757
Missouri Southern                2 11  13  34  .154 | 15 17  58  64  .469
Fort Hays State                  2 11  10  35  .154 | 16 17  56  63  .485
  
Final AVCA/CSTV D-II Top 25 ranking in parenthesis
x = Won MIAA championship
Notes: Nebraska-Omaha (17-9, 8-4 North Central Conference in '07) joins the
MIAA for 2008. The MIAA has eliminated divisional play and the postseason
tournament for 2008.