Weekend Preview: Volleyball Begins Conference Play

Horizon League volleyball action begins in earnest this weekend as Horizon League teams face off in six league matches.  Four of the conference tilts will be shown on the Horizon League network.

The highlight matchup of the first weekend of conference action looks to be Cleveland State's Friday vist to Butler.  The Vikings and Bulldogs are two of four teams to receive first place votes in the preseason poll of league coaches.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the nine conference schools after three weekends of play.

Butler (4-7), the defending conference tournament champion, hosts Cleveland State Friday and Youngstown State Saturday to begin league play. Both matches will be on the HLN. The Bulldogs got off to a slow start on the season as they tried to replace All-American Jessica Wolfe, but they enter conference play coming off a 3-1 week last week. Kelly Kyle and Brooke Ruffolo, two of four freshman starters for the Bulldogs in the early season, were both named to the all-tournament team in last weekend's Butler Invitational.

Cleveland State(7-4) begins conference play on the road with trips to Butler Friday night and Wright State Saturday. The Vikings enter the weekend after winning two of three matches at the CSU Invitational last weekend. CSU has won two of three matches at each of its three preseason tournaments, while also defeating Akron at home and falling to Kent State during mid-week matches.

Green Bay(3-8) has one game on its schedule this weekend and it’s a trip to Milwaukee Friday night to face last season’s regular season champions. Green Bay has played in three tournaments so far this season, winning one match at each tournament. Junior Carmen Leitermann leads the Phoenix in hitting percentage (.305), kills (117) and blocks (38).

UIC (6-4, 0-1) lost to Valparaiso, 3-0 on Wednesday in the first Horizon League conference game of the 2011-12 academic year. The Flames will not play any conference matches this weekend, but play a non-conference match at Northern Illinois Friday. UIC started the season with a 5-1 record behind the player of juniors Janise Dismuke and Kelsey Safranek, including going undefeated at the CEFCU Classic where Dismuke was named tournament MVP.

Loyola (3-6) is under first-year head coach Chris Muscat who will lead his squad into its first conference match of the season on Saturday night at Milwaukee. The Ramblers are a young teams that, like Butler, plays four freshmen in the starting lineup.Freshmen lead the team in most categories, including Mary Kate Styler, who leads the team with 96 kills; Libby Bresser, team-leader with 22 blocks; and Vicki Wrobel, who paces the team with 289 assists.

Milwaukee(7-4) opens with two league games at home, hosting Green Bay Friday and Loyola Saturday. The preseason favorite in the coaches’ poll has been a handful for teams all season. The Panthers began the season by traveling to Tempe, Ariz., for a tournament where they won two of three matches and then came back the next week at won all three matches at a tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. Milwaukee has been led by 2010 Conference Player-of-the-Year Kerri Schuh, who has already been named Offensive Player of the Week twice in 2011.

Valparaiso(8-4, 1-0) defeated UIC on Wednesday night to jump into the early lead in the Horizon League. The Crusaders have played in three tournaments so far this season, winning at least two matches in each tournament. They will play in their fourth tournament this weekend in Chicago, where they are scheduled to face DePaul, Kansas and San Diego State.

Wright State(1-9) hosts Youngstown State Friday and Cleveland State Saturday to begin Horizon League play. The Raiders, who have only two seniors on their roster, defeated High Point last weekend for their first win of the season. Wright State has played only two home matches so far this season and will look to build momentum this weekend in the friendly confines of C.J. McLin Gymnasium.

Youngstown State(1-10) opens league play on the road this weekend with trips to Wright State Friday and Butler Saturday. The Penguins only have one win on the season, but they have been very competitive. YSU has forced a fifth set in five matches, but has yet to come away with a victory in any of those five matches.