Columbia Volleyball Picked to Finish 5th

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After finishing 25-12 in 2011 and the program's first appearance ever in the conference tournament semi-finals, Union is the favorite to win the 2012 Appalachian Athletic Conference championships, according to the AAC Coaches' Poll released on Wednesday.

Union garnered seven first-place votes and tallied 87 total points to be the overwhelming favorite. Bryan is picked to finish second as the Lady Lions received one first-place vote and 75 total points.

Milligan and Montreat each collected 65 total points, but in a tie-breaker vote, Milligan was selected to place third. Columbia picked up the final first-place vote and had 61 points to land fifth.

Making up the rest of the field are Virginia Intermont (47) in sixth, Reinhardt (46) in seventh, Tennessee Wesleyan (24) in eighth, Point (21) in ninth and St. Andrews (9) in 10th.

Facing a young conference across the board, The Fighting Koalas are lead by their 4 seniors who turned the volleyball program around at Columbia in 2009 while they competed in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Head Coach, Katie Welsh commented on the pre-season poll results, "The Pre-Season poll doesn't mean much to me. We are returning a veteran team with expierence and a hunger to finish what they started 4 years ago and want to see a Championship game birth." Columbia opens their 2012 season at home against Truett-McConnell. To see the full schedule, click here.

Information provided by the AAC Conference Page.