Troy, NY--Sage College was picked to finish third in the race for the 2010 Skyline Conference Championship by the league's coaches in a pre-season poll. The Gators will open their 2010 campaign on September 3 at Union College in a tri-match with regional foe, Skidmore College.

Coming off an unbeaten season in conference play, Polytechnic Institute of NYU was selected as the unanimous preseason favorite in the Skyline Conference women's volleyball coaches' preseason poll. The Fighting Blue Jays, who went 25-10 overall last season, recorded 10 first-place votes and 100 points to claim the top honor.

St. Joseph's, which finished second during the regular season in 2009, was picked second with 89 points. The Golden Eagles went 20-15 last season, qualifying for the ECAC Metro/Upstate Tournament. Junior outside hitter Melissa O'Connell and senior libero Shannon Dempsey both earned All-Skyline Conference honors a year ago.

Sage, picked third with 83 points, won Skyline Conference titles in 2007 and 2008 before falling to NYU-Poly in a five-set thriller in the conference championship match last season. Senior middle blocker Nicole Corbett, an All-Skyline first-team selection, is a force in the middle for the Gators. A traditionally strong defensive team, Sage will also have to replace graduated senior outside hitter Kellie Jones, an All-Skyline second-team selection.

SKYLINE CONFERENCE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
2010 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

1. NYU-Poly (10) 100
2. St. Joseph's-L.I. 89
3. Sage (1) 83
4. Mount Saint Mary 73
5. Old Westbury 57
6. Mount Saint Vincent 54
7. Farmingdale State 47
8. Purchase 43
9. Bard 29
10. Maritime 19
11. Yeshiva 11

(first-place votes in parentheses)

2010 The Sage Colleges Women's Volleyball Season Outlook

The Gators will look to return to the postseason again this fall with a young squad that features five freshmen, one sophomore and just three seniors. In 2009, the team just missed their third straight Skyline Conference league championship title after falling in five sets in the title match. Over the past three seasons, Sage has racked up two Skyline Conference Championships, one runner-up finish and a pair of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, while also posting an impressive 25-2 mark in league play.

Leading Sage for the tenth season will be the program's all-time victory leader, Lisa Gallagher. She brings a 167-145 career record into the 2010 campaign and will be supported by the return of assistant coaches, Andy Smith and Elizabeth Mickalonis.

With the return of senior veterans Nicole Corbett and Michelle DeNisco, the 2010 Gators are ready to return to title contention this fall. Among the key graduation losses is that of Kellie Jones, a two-time Skyline Conference All-Star and the 2009-2010 Skyline Conference NCAA Woman of the Year nominee.

Corbett is a returning three-time Skyline Conference All-Star and was a candidate in 2009 for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team, as well as the AVCA All-America Team. Over the course of her junior season, she earned four selections to the Skyline Conference weekly honor roll and was tapped as the Player of the Week once. She started every set for the Gators and led the team with a .291 attack percentage, 275 kills, and 117 total blocks. In the 2009 Skyline Conference Tournament, she average 3.18 kills per set with 1.27 blocks with a .382 attacking percentage. She finished the season ranked second all-time in career total blocks with 378and is just 61 blocks shy owning the career record. She is also currently in fourth place on the career kills list with 905 as moved ahead of Elizabeth St. Dennis (903, 2004-06).

As a junior, Corbett earned a spot on the 2009 Skyline Conference Scholar-Athlete Fall Team as well as Sage's Scholar-Athlete Fall Team for her accomplishments in the classroom. She was named the recipient of Sage's 2009-2010 ECAC Award of Merit and was named the team's 2009 Gator of the Year, team Most Valuable Player.

DeNisco returns at middle hitter after a strong first season at Sage last fall. She started all 36 matches for the Gators and added 112 kills with 35 serving aces and 66 digs. She tallied 48 total blocks for a 0.39 per set block average. She came to Sage from SUNY-Orange, where she was a first team NJCAA Region XV and a Mid Hudson Conference all-star.

Co-captain and three-time letterwinner, Cheryce Harvey gives Sage additional experience on the roster this year. She anchored Sage's right side last year and tallied 260 digs with 29 blocks. She is a Dean's List student and was named to the 2009 Skyline Conference Scholar-Athlete Team. She is Sage's SAAC treasurer-elect for 2010-2011.

Voted the team's Most Improved Player in 2009, junior defensive specialist and libero, Kelsey Wilson returns to anchor the Sage defense. Wilson led the team with her 458 digs and was fourth amongst the players in the Skyline Conference last year with a 3.69 per set average. She ranks 11th in program history with her single-season digs and 764 career digs in her two seasons with the Gators and should push into the program's top-ten this year.

Gallagher has high expectations for several of her newcomers. Freshman Joanie Cooney is a talented two-sport graduate of Shenedehowa High. Cooney will challenge for starting duties as the libero and a defensive specialist.

Junior Jennifer Ahearn is turning in her cleats this fall for time on the court as the softball player will look to see time on the volleyball court as an outside hitter. Also competing for starting time will be freshman right side hitter, Vicky Muller, who earned team MVP and all-league honors at Berlin High School.

Additional depth on the roster will come from the likes of Gina Cerutti, a former three-sport standout at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons. Kate Kuebler was a former Scholar-Athlete honoree at Mohonasen High School and helped her team to a regional championship. Sophomore defensive specialist, Kelsey Newberg comes to Sage after a year at Queens University of Charlotte, where she played both softball and volleyball. Marlena Sloan, a Lansingburgh High School graduate, rounds out the long list of newcomers for the 2010 Gators.

Sage's 2010 schedule will find the team challenged and tested before the year ends. Sage will host five dual matches this fall in the Neff Athletic Center with the 2010 home opener taking place on September 15 when they host SUNY-New Paltz. Additional home competition will come in the form of a pair of quad-matches to be held at the Kahl Campus Center and will feature both Skyline Conference and regional foes such as Skidmore, William Paterson and SUNY-Potsdam.

Sage will also take to the court in a number of tournaments that will pit the Gators against many of the nation's premiere NCAA Division III opponents, all with hopes of preparing the team for post-season play at the end of the regular-season. Sage will compete at the Nazareth College Golden Flyer Invitational and will face both New York University and 2009 NCAA Division III National Runners-up on the opening day of action. Stiff local competition for the Gators will come at the Union College Invitational with matches with Hartwick, Elms College and Skidmore, while the team will hold their annual "Crankin For a Cure Match" on October 19 at Union College.

The Gators will compete throughout the season with the league's conference championship and the conference's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division III Championship as their ultimate goal.