Aug. 15, 2006

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's volleyball team has been picked to win the 2006 Horizon League regular season title.

UWM received the maximum seven first-place votes and 49 points, with coaches unable to vote for their own team. UIC and Loyola shared second-place honors, with each team collecting 39 points.

The reasons the Panthers were picked to win the league are numerous. UWM returns five starters and 10 letterwinners, including all-league performer Cheryl Hegemann, honorable mention all-region honoree Sarah Moore and league co-newcomer of the year Becky Peters. Senior Melissa David and junior Leanne Felsing also return to the starting lineup, while UWM adds a highly-touted recruiting class that includes four all-state performers from Wisconsin.

"When you look at who we have back and where we finished last year, we would seem to be the logical pick," UWM head coach Kathy Litzau said. "But this league continues to get stronger and I think it is more balanced than ever before. You have teams like UIC and ourselves that bring back a lot of experienced players, and you also have teams that have recruited well and will look much different. It will be very difficult to win the league this year and we will have to come ready to play every night."

If UWM is able to win the regular season league title, it would be its fourth-straight crown. No league school has won four-straight regular-season titles since Notre Dame won four in a row from 1991-1994. The Panthers have lost just four regular-season league matches in the last three seasons.

UWM opened practice last Friday and is less than two weeks away from starting the regular season Aug. 25-26 at the State Farm Illini Classic. The Panthers will be tested severely during non-league play, with scheduled contests against Illinois, Alabama, #9 Wisconsin and #12 Louisville highlighting the slate. UWM's first match is Aug. 25 vs. Winthrop, which was picked to win the Big South Conference.

2006 Horizon League Preseason Volleyball Poll

1. UW-Milwaukee (7) - 49 points

2. UIC (1) - 39 points

tie - Loyola - 39 points

4. Butler - 29 points

5. Cleveland State - 20 points

6. Wright State - 19 points

7. UW-Green Bay - 18 points

8. Youngstown State - 11 points