Complete Release (PDF)

ST. PAUL, MINN.:  The Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the 2008 Preseason Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Coaches poll released on Wednesday.  The Mustangs received 128 points in the poll tallied from the votes of the league's 14 coaches.

2007 NCAA Division II National Champions Concordia University, St. Paul was tabbed the preseason favorite to win the conference; it received 12 first place votes and 168 points. Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State, Mankato each received one first place vote; they are picked to finish second and third, respectively.

Terry Culhane enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Mustangs and has an overall record of 101-35 at SMSU.  The Mustangs have appeared in four NCAA tournaments during Culhane's tenure.

SMSU enters fall practice with nine returning letterwinners.  Last season's team finished 26-8 overall and 15-3 in the NSIC.  SMSU finished second in the 2007 NSIC league standings and made its fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance. The Mustangs were also ranked No. 12 in the final CSTV/AVCA Top-25 Poll of 2007.  The 2008 roster will include three seniors, four juniors, two sophomores, one redshirt freshman and seven freshmen.

SMSU returns a trio of All-NSIC performers.  Junior middle blocker Leah Ashburn (Hector, Minn.) was named first team All-NSIC, while senior defensive specialist/libero Sarah Quiram (LeSueur, Minn.) and junior setter Sara Graf (Mt. Pleasant, Iowa) were both named  All-NSIC honorable mention.

The Mustangs also welcome back senior middle blocker Kasey Loeslie (Tracy, Minn.), who sat out the 2007 season with an injury. Loeslie was a 2006 All-NSIC honorable mention pick.

SMSU opened fall practice on Monday and will play its first match of the season on Aug. 29 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at the Nova Southeastern Classic.