The Stetson volleyball team was predicted to finish ninth in the 2012 Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, which the league released Friday afternoon.  The Hatters (9-18, 2-11 in 2011) received 25 points in the poll, 10 points higher than 10th-place USC Upstate.

Lipscomb was projected to capture its fourth consecutive A-Sun regular season title, earning 95 total points and six first place votes. The Bisons were also the coaches' pick to repeat as tournament champions.  Florida Gulf Coast (86 points, one first place vote) and ETSU (83 points, three first place votes) were picked to finish second and third, respectively.

Filling out the poll in the fourth through eighth spots were Kennesaw State (65 points), North Florida (61), Jacksonville (52), Mercer (38), and Atlantic Sun newcomer Northern Kentucky (30).  Following a double round-robin regular season (18 matches), the top six teams in the conference qualify for the A-Sun Championship in Nashville, Tenn.

The Hatters return six starters from a year ago including junior Kaley Melville (3.04 kpg in 2011), senior Monique Russell (3.97 dpg), senior Kelli Carneal (7.49 apg), and junior Ellen Hawks (0.89 bpg).  Head coach Tim Loesch begins his second season with the program.

Stetson is scheduled to play 35 regular season matches, which would mark its largest match total since 1991.  The Hatters open the season on Aug. 24 at the ISTAP Invitational in Montgomery, Ala., where they will face Jacksonville State at 10 a.m. and South Dakota at 4 p.m.