Aug. 16, 2011
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State bas been picked to finish third in the Mountain West this season in a poll of the league's eight head volleyball coaches. In addition, Aztec junior middle blocker Andrea Hannasch has been named to the 2011 preseason all-conference squad by the same panel.
Defending league champion Colorado State has been tabbed the favorite to win the 2011 MW regular season title with New Mexico selected to finish second. San Diego State received 51 points for third place in the poll, while TCU earned 41 points for fourth place. Wyoming (27 points) and newcomer Boise State (25 points) claimed fifth and sixth place, respectively, followed by UNLV (seventh, 20 points) and Air Force (eighth, 8 points).
Hannasch, meanwhile, was named to the preseason all-Mountain West squad after earning all-conference honors during the 2010 campaign. The junior from New Braunfels, Texas, was among the top five in the Mountain West in blocking last season, both overall (1/23 blocks per set) and in league matches (1.20 blocks per set).
She also averaged 2.59 kills and 1.36 digs per set over the course of the season and earned Mountain West Player of the Week honors in late September. In addition, she led the Aztecs in service aces and accounted for a team-leading 3.44 points per set.
San Diego State opens its 2011 season on Friday, August 26, as it hosts the annual Aztec Invitational at Aztec Court in Peterson Gym. SDSU kicks off the season with a match vs. UC Irvine that evening at 7:00 p.m. and will also have contests the following day (Saturday Aug. 27) against Portland at noon and Nevada at 7:00 p.m.
2011 PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL COACHES' POLLPl. Team (1st place votes) Points 1. Colorado State (5)........60 2. New Mexico (3)............56 3. San Diego State...........51 4. TCU.......................41 5. Wyoming...................27 6. Boise State...............25 7. UNLV......................20 8. Air Force..................8