Wallace State volleyball ranked No. 18 in NJCAA Division I preseason poll
HANCEVILLE – Wallace State’s volleyball team is ranked No. 18 in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll, released Monday. The Lions are recognized in the Top 20 preseason ranking for the fifth year in a row and will seek their fifth consecutive state championship this season under coach Randy Daniel.
“Seeing us ranked in the preseason is always a great honor. It shows we’ve done well in the past and that our expectations are again high for this team,” said coach Randy Daniel.
Returning Wallace State sophomores are setter Nicole Penny and outside hitter Kianna Delaney. Penny, an ACCC/Region 22 all-tournament selection last season and 2nd-team All-Region member, finished with a team-high 1,076 assists, while Delaney, a 2nd-team All-Region member, was second on the team with 249 digs and third with 361 kills. Newcomer Blaise Brown, a 5-foot-8 setter from Southside HS in Gadsden, rounds out the sophomore class.
Wallace State has 11 freshmen on this season’s roster, highlighted by outside hitter Montana Clark, from Plainview, who holds the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) record with 3,045 career digs. She also is third in the all-time AHSAA ranks with 2,569 career kills.
Wallace State finished with a 33-8 record last season, capturing its fourth straight ACCC/Region 22 tournament title and fifth consecutive ACCC/Region 22 regular-season championship. The team made its fourth straight trip to the NJCAA national tournament in West Plains, Mo., and 13th overall.
Wallace State opens the 2013 season on Aug. 23-24, hosting its sixth annual tournament at Tom Drake Coliseum.
Daniel, entering his seventh year with the Lions, has a 228-41 career record at Wallace State.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu.
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
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Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu