Women's Volleyball | 8/13/2010 9:22:15 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT volleyball team is picked to finish fifth in the 2010 Empire 8 preseason coaches poll, as released by the conference on Friday.  Stevens Institute of Technology, which has won the conference title in each of its first three seasons, is the unanimous preseason favorite in the coaches' poll to capture the Empire 8 Volleyball Championship again this year.

The Tigers will be coached by Jim Lodes, who also coached the Tigers from 1991-1995.  He led the Tigers to a school record 51 wins in 1992 and a berth in the national semifinals in 1993.  Overall, RIT made three NCAA Tournaments in his first stint as head coach.

RIT finished .500 in conference play a year ago and posted 21 wins overall.  Lodes inherits an extremely young team that has plenty of emerging talent.  Senior Jessica Schaffer (Wellington, OH/Keystone) is back for her final season after missing the previous two due to injuries.  She is seventh all-time at RIT with 1,285 kills and ninth with 1,514 digs.  Sophomores Rebecca Moore (San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo) and Christina Worth (Valencia, CA/Valencia) will also anchor what could be a strong Tiger lineup.  Moore slammed 338 kills in her freshman season, while Worth led the squad with 800 assists and a .395 hitting percentage.

This season's two conference weekends in which all conference matches will take place will be hosted by Rochester Institute of Technology Sept. 25-26 and by Ithaca Oct. 22-23. The championship tournament featuring the top four teams in regular season play will be hosted by the top seed on Nov. 6.

Stevens won all 30 matches against conference opponents since joining the Empire 8, including 24 regular season victories and six postseason wins.

Senior outside hitter Sarah Byrne was named Empire 8 Player of the Year and outside hitter Maggie Kowalska was chosen as Empire 8 Rookie of the Year a year ago with each making the all-conference first team. Byrne averaged 3.8 kills and 3.0 digs per set overall and was named Most Valuable Player of the conference tournament, while Kowalska averaged 3.4 kills per set and hit .318 in conference play.

Nazareth College, seeking its first Empire 8 Volleyball Championship title since 2006, is the coaches' choice to place second. The four-time Empire 8 champion Golden Flyers finished 7-1 in regular season conference play for the second consecutive year in 2009. Nazareth must replace all-conference first-team players Katleynn Reed and Kate Zwickl as well as Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year Mallorie Clary.

Ithaca College, which advanced to the conference championship last season, is predicted to finish third this year. The Bombers captured the ECAC Metro Upstate Championship a year ago and will need to replace all-conference setter Corinna Doctor and second-team outside hitter Rachel Busch.

St. John Fisher College, RIT, and Elmira College all battled for the final spot in the conference tournament last year and the coaches' poll indicates the same thing may happen this season. The Cardinals are predicted to finish fourth with RIT fifth and Elmira sixth.

Senior middle blocker Sydney Kandefer of the Cardinals earned first-team all-conference honors last season and was a second-team selection as a sophomore. She averaged 2.2 kills and one block per set. John Tuttle takes over the helm of the program after posting a 218-147 mark at Brockport over 10 years.

Elmira dropped five conference matches in 2009, but four of them were in the fifth set, including against conference champion Stevens. Sophomore outside hitter Sasha Zavadska earned second-team all-conference honors in her rookie season, averaging 3.5 kills and 3.8 digs per set. The Soaring Eagles upended St. John Fisher on their way to the title match of the ECAC Metro Upstate Championship.

Hartwick College is the coaches' selection to finish seventh this season. Middle blocker Courtney Desmond has earned honorable mention all-conference recognition in each of her first two seasons.

Utica College is the coaches' choice to place eighth this season with Alfred University predicted to finish ninth. The Pioneers and Alfred University split two matches a year ago with Utica winning the conference match in three sets. The Saxons will be led by new coach Ron Higgins.

2010 Empire 8 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Stevens Institute of Technology - 64 points
2. Nazareth College - 56
3. Ithaca College - 49
4. St. John Fisher College - 39
5. Rochester Institute of Technology - 37
6. Elmira College - 34
7. Hartwick College - 22
8. Utica College - 13
9. Alfred University - 10

- Empire 8 -