| Aug. 7, 2006 Southland Conference tabs UTSA third in preseason polls FRISCO – The Southland Conference announced its 2006 preseason volleyball polls on Monday and UTSA was picked to finish third in the West Division by both the league?s coaches and sports information directors. The Roadrunners received a pair of first-place votes in both polls. Defending regular season champion Stephen F. Austin was the consensus choice to defend its title.
The Southland will have a new look this season, as the league has expanded to 12 teams. Central Arkansas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are new SLC members and Louisiana-Monroe has left to join the Sun Belt Conference. The league schedule features a East and West Division and an eight-team postseason tournament, which will be played at UTSA from Nov. 16-18. The top two divisional finishers plus the next four teams with the best conference records (regardless of division) will qualify for the conference tournament.
UTSA is coming off a 2005 season that saw them finish one victory short of the NCAA Tournament. The Roadrunners posted an 18-11 overall record and tied for third in league with a 12-6 mark. Head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff welcomes back five starters (all seniors) and nine letterwinners from last year?s squad, including 2005 SLC Student-Athlete of the Year Meagan Daniel, second-team All-SLC selection DeeDee Strickland and third-team choice Connie Picard.
The Roadrunners open the season on Friday, Aug. 25, when they play Syracuse in the Best Western Classic in Wichita, Kan. |
