IIAC: No surprises here, the coaches like Wartburg

Wartburg received seven first-place votes from IIAC coaches and picked up the preseason bulls-eye as the favorite. Cornell accounted for the other two top votes and placed second. Loras, Central and Simpson rounded out the top five.

Wartburg returns its starting lineup that included the Sieck sisters, setter Ramey and outside Britlyn, and outside Kamille Van Natta. Everyone knows that I’ve been on the Knight bandwagon for a while now, so I’ll just write that I agree with the coaches’ choice.

Then again this is the IIAC, a volleyball peer to many top conferences. There aren’t many breaks in the IIAC schedule, and once again I agree with the coaches; if there’s a team that will challenge Wartburg for the title, it’s Cornell, which loses its longtime setter but returns outside Kathleen O’Connor, the dynamic IIAC Freshman of the Year.

Loras, last year’s IIAC regular season champion, will also be in the mix despite losing 2010 IIAC Player of the Year Kate Russell. The Duhawks return all-IIAC players at setter and outside.

Wartburg tied for third in the regular season last year but won the IIAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Knights swept UW-Whitewater before falling, 3-1, to eventual regional champion Washington in the second round at the Carthage Regional.

-Ricky Nelson