August 28, 2011
The St. Mary’s volleyball team showed last season the importance of getting hot late.
Now, they’ll look to translate that success into a season-long run of excellence.
The Rattlers, fresh off of a run to last year’s NCAA regional tournament after winning the Heartland Conference Tournament championship, have been picked to finish fourth in the Heartland Conference preseason poll. The poll was voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
St. Mary’s won nine of its final 14 matches to finish last year at 15-18 overall and 7-5 in league competition.
Despite entering the Heartland Tournament as the third seed, the Lady Rattlers went on a run and won the tournament for the first time since 2000. That resulted in St. Mary’s making its first-ever NCAA regional-tournament berth in coach Jenny Warmack-Chipman’s first year at the helm.