2014 MIAC VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College has been tabbed to finish second in what is shaping up to be another competitive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference volleyball race in 2014, according to the conference's preseason coaches poll in its volleyball preview, announced on Tuesday.

Head coach Jane Becker, the 2013 MIAC and American Volleyball Coaches Association Central Region Coach of the Year, enters the 2014 season with one of the largest rosters in school history -- 25 players -- having lost just two seniors to graduation from a 2013 Auggie squad that won a share of the MIAC regular-season title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III national playoffs.

In the MIAC preseason coaches poll, Augsburg ranked second behind St. Thomas, which received 10 of the 12 first-place votes and 120 total votes. Augsburg, which received 106 votes, and Saint Benedict, which received 105 votes, each received a first-place vote from the coaches. Augsburg enters the season ranked No. 16 in the AVCA Division III preseason national poll, with St. Thomas ranked No. 5 and Saint Benedict ranked No. 9.

Here's a look at Augsburg from the MIAC preview. Augsburg opens its 2014 campaign at the Saint Benedict Invitational this weekend in St. Joseph, Minn. On Friday (8/29), the Auggies face Wisconsin-Platteville at 1 p.m. and Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 5 p.m., and on Saturday (8/30), the Auggies face Northwestern-St. Paul at 11 a.m. and Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 3 p.m.

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Head Coach: Jane Becker (5th season)
A Year Ago: 10-1 MIAC (t-1st place) | 29-5 Overall

In the 2013 Postseason:
• MIAC Playoff Semifinals, L 3-1 to Saint Benedict
• NCAA Division III National Playoffs: W 3-1 vs. Pacific Lutheran in first round, L 3-1 at St. Thomas in second round.
 
Top Returners:
• Ashley Peper (RS, JR | AVCA First-team All-American, AVCA All-Central Region, All-MIAC in 2013; Led MIAC with 507 kills, 4.49 kills per-set, 564.0 points, 5.0 points per-set in 2013; Has recorded 847 kills (3.89 kps), .301 attack pct., 546 digs (2.50 dps) and 119 blocks (29 solo, 0.55 bps) in 62 career matches)
• Colleen Ourada (OH, SR | AVCA Third-team All-American, AVCA All-Central Region, All-MIAC in 2013; Led MIAC with 1,160 attacks and 33 solo blocks in 2013; Has recorded 1,182 kills (3.26 dps), .214 attack pct., 733 digs (2.02 dps) and 250 blocks (74 solo, 0.69 bps in 104 career matches)
• Mackensie Menke (DS, SR | Ranked third on team with 290 digs and 2.54 digs per-set in 2013; Has recorded 753 career digs in 89 career matches (2.48 dps)
 
Key Losses:
• Emily McCourt (S | AVCA Second-team All-American, AVCA All-Central Region, All-MIAC three times, school-record 4,192 assists in 119 career matches)
• Katelyn Berens (Libero | 1,237 digs in 93 career matches)
• Taylor Trautman (MH | 1.64 kills and 0.75 blocks per-set in 2013)
 
By the Numbers: 
• 16: Augsburg's preseason national ranking in the 2014 American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll, the first time in program history that Augsburg has been ranked in the AVCA's preseason national poll. Augsburg was ranked as high as No. 13 nationally last year and finished the season ranked No. 16.
• 7: The Division III national ranking for right-side hitter Ashley Peper in kills per-set, a MIAC-leading 4.49 total. Peper also ranked No. 9 nationally in points per-set (4.99) and No. 12 in total kills (507).
• 1,182: Career kills for Colleen Ourada, Augsburg's all-time leader in the category. She also holds Augsburg's school record for attack attempts (3,343), while ranking second in career kills per-set (3.26) and 10th in career attack percentage (.214). She also ranks third in school history in career total blocks (250) and second in career solo blocks (74).
 
Did You Know?
Augsburg earned American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award honors in the 2013-14 school year with a 3.38 team grade-point average. Eighteen Auggies had cumulative 3.00 or better GPAs in 2013, with six achieving 3.50 or better cumulative GPAs.