CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- Wartburg College, which captured its third Iowa Conference title with a perfect 7-0 league mark, is the pick of the conference coaches to win the 2014 Iowa Conference volleyball title. The Knights received five of seven available first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own teams) and two second-place votes for 54 points.

Coe College (46 points), Luther College (42) and Loras College (39) each picked up a first-place vote and ranked second, third and fourth, respectively. The Kohawks received three second-place votes, two third-place votes and a fifth-place vote in addition to the first-place nod. The Norse also picked up a second-place vote and three third-place votes. The Duhawks also collected two third-place votes.

The complete 2014 IIAC Volleyball Coaches’ Poll follows.

Rank	School (1st place votes)	Points	2013 Record
1	Wartburg (5)	54	26-12, 7-0 IIAC
2	Coe (1)	46	33-5, 6-1 IIAC
3	Luther (1)	42	16-19, 4-3 IIAC
4	Loras (1)	39	15-17, 4-3 IIAC
5	Central	32	13-19, 2-5 IIAC
6	Buena Vista	23	17-12, 1-6 IIAC
T7	Dubuque	22	12-21, 2-5 IIAC
T7	Simpson	22	17-14, 2-5 IIAC

2014 Schedule: The 2014 schedule opens Friday, August 29 with seven of eight schools in action. Coe and Luther open up at the Elmhurst Invitational, Simpson is at the Colorado College Invitational, Dubuque and Wartburg are at the Saint Mary's (Minn.) Sugar Loaf Classic and Loras is at the three-day Washington-St. Louis Labor Day Classic, while Buena Vista is at Webster for a standalone match before joining the Duhawks at Washington University the following day. Central ventures to Danville, Va., to participate in the Averett Invitational Saturday-Sunday, August 30-31.

The 2014 Iowa Conference schedule opens Wednesday, September 17, with three matches – Loras hosting Luther, Simpson hosting Wartburg and Dubuque hosting Coe. Buena Vista hosts Central the following evening.

Preseason Poll: Coe (31) and Wartburg (7) are both receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll.

Conference Tournament: The top six teams following the regular season round-robin schedule qualify for the 2014 Iowa Conference Tournament with an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. The IIAC Tournament is November 4, 6 and 8, with each match hosted by the higher seed.

Team-By-Team Preview: A brief preview for each Iowa Conference team follows.

	Buena Vista University Beavers 17-12 overall, 1-6 IIAC (eighth)
	Head Coach: Lori Slight (3rd season) Record at School (yrs): 23-38 (2) Career Record (yrs): 58-102 (5) IIAC Titles (last): 0 IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 0	Starters returning/lost – 5 / 3 Letterwinners returning/lost – 6 / 3 All-IIAC players returning – 1 (Bardole-13, FOY) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 0

Buena Vista returns five starters and six letter winners from last year’s 17-12 team that finished eighth in the Conference with a 1-6 record. The Beavers took a significant step forward last season with their play in the nonconference portion of the schedule, going 16-6. The challenge for this season will be making a similar step up in conference play and qualify for the IIAC Tournament, something the Beavers haven't done since 2007.

The Beavers will be led by sophomore outside hitter Maddie Bardole. Bardole, an all-conference selection a year ago and last season's Iowa Conference Freshman of the Year, led all Iowa Conference players in kills with 102 (3.78 per set) and ranked eighth in attack percentage (.238). She posted 416 kills overall – also tops among Iowa Conference players. Bardole also ranked second on the team in digs (339) and third in assists (30), service aces (29) and blocks (50).

Senior middle blocker Shelby Wiederhoeft also returns. Wiederhoeft averaged 2.64 kills per set overall to rank third on the team and ninth among all IIAC players while her .285 attack percentage ranked fifth and her 0.72 blocks per set was seventh. She led the Beavers with 37 service aces, ranked second in blocks with 79 (14 solo) and third in kills with 290.

Joining Bardole and Wiederhoeft on the attack will be sophomore Sydnee Donnelli. Donnelli ranked second on the team in assists (42), fourth in kills (95) and digs (234) and posted 16 aces. Senior libero/defensive specialist Jordan Henningsen ranked third on the team in digs (304) and fourth in aces (23) while posting 25 assists.

Buena Vista head coach Lori Slight says, "Returning the Conference Freshman of the Year, as well as a middle blocker and defensive specialist with three years of collegiate experience, should give us maturity and balance amongst our incoming, younger players. We hope to improve upon our conference standing from the past several years and look forward to competing at a high level against the best teams in the conference.”

	Central College Dutch 13-19 overall, 2-5 IIAC (tie-fifth)
	Head Coach: Kent Clayberg (12th season) Record at School (yrs): 240-138 (11) Career Record (yrs): same IIAC Titles (last): 17 (2007) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 10 (2007)	Starters returning/lost – 6 / 0 Letterwinners returning/lost – 15 / 5 All-IIAC players returning – 2 (Zempel-12; Bahtic-13) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 0

Central returns six starters including the libero and 15 letter winners from last season’s 13-19 team that tied for fifth in the IIAC with a 2-5 record. With last year's lineup returning virtually intact and a slew of newcomers ready to make an impact, the Dutch will be looking to build on the momentum provided by winning seven of their final nine matches to close out 2013 – a season that saw Central sitting at home during the Iowa Conference tournament for the first time ever.

In addition to an experienced lineup, Central Coach Kent Clayberg has the luxury of not one, but two, returning all-conference defensive specialists. Senior Dzenita Bahtic took home honors last season, while junior Tori Zempel was honored as a freshman in 2012. Bahtic led the Iowa Conference in digs at 5.71 per set, while Zempel was eighth at 3.73. In all matches, Bahtic led all Iowa Conference players with a 5.14 dig-per-set average and Zempel was seventh at 3.59. Bahtic also ranked second on the team with 26 service aces.

Senior setter Claire Stewart will once again be directing traffic offensively for the Dutch. She played in 111 sets last season, accumulating team-highs with 689 assists and 36 aces while posting 204 digs. Stewart ranked seventh in the IIAC in assists, averaging 6.81 per set.

Offensively, the Dutch will rely on a trio of seniors – outside hitters Sara Snead and Jessica Laflin and right-side hitter Hannah Welter. Welter led the team in kills (238) and blocks (79) while also posting 14 assists, 11 aces and 58 digs. She aveaged 0.69 blocks per set, a figure that ranked ninth among all IIAC players. Snead was Central's freest swinger last year with over 900 total attacks. She connected on 225 (a 2.14 per-set average) to rank second on the team. Snead also posted 17 assists, 10 aces, 37 blocks (eight solo) and was one of five Dutch players over 200 digs (207). Laflin, who missed the last third of the season with an injury, started 16 matches, ranking fourth on the team in kills (161) and third in kills per set (2.12).

Central head coach Kent Clayberg says, “We are super-excited for the 2014 season! We feel great about the experience and leadership returning to our squad - we expect to be right in the thick of the race for the IIAC title. With so many conference teams returning the bulk of their lineups, it should be competitive across the board. We are blessed with an abundance of great coaches and programs in the IIAC...this should be a fun season.”

	Coe College Kohawks 33-5 overall, 6-1 IIAC (second)
	Head Coach: DeAnn Woodin (9th season) Record at School (yrs): 162-111 (8) Career Record (yrs): same IIAC Titles (last): 1 (2011) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 0	Starters returning/lost – 4 + libero / 2 Letterwinners returning/lost – 9 / 3 All-IIAC players returning – 4 (Schaefer-11-12-13, Bosworth-12-13, Wittenburg-12-13, Harbaugh-13) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 0

Coe returns four starters including the libero and nine letter winners from last season’s 33-5 team that finished second in the Conference with a 6-1 record. Four players who have accounted for eight all-Iowa Conference honors over the last three seasons return to a team that posted a 21-match winning streak, finished the year with the 13th-best won-loss percentage in Division III last season (.868) and ranked 28th in Division III in attack percentage (.241).

Front and center, literally, will be senior outside hitters Rachel Schaefer and Rachel Bosworth. Schaefer, a three-time all-conference pick, was the team's top attacker last season with a team-high 369 kills, an average of 3.08 per set. In conference play, she averaged 3.09 kills per set to rank fifth in the league while also ranking third in service aces (0.55 per set). Schaefer also posted 152 digs and 53 blocks (13 solo).

Bosworth, a two-time all-league selection, led the Kohawks with 83 blocks, including 31 solos, and ranked second on the team with 262 kills. She ranked fifth in the conference in attack percentage (.286) and sixth among all players (.276). Bosworth also ranked eighth among league players in blocks.

Senior libero Alissa Wittenburg, also a two-time all-conference honoree, played in all 38 matches last season, posting team-highs with 610 digs and 68 service aces. She led all conference players in aces at 0.54 per set and ranked second in digs with a 4.84 average. In league play, she ranked fourth in aces (0.52 per set) and third in digs (5.17 per set).

Junior setter/right-side hitter Mackenzie Harbaugh, named to her first all-IIAC in 2013, led the team with 1177 assists, ranked second in aces (52), third in digs (311) and fifth in kills (209). She ranked second in the conference in assists (9.70 per set), sixth in attack percentage (.267) and eighth in service aces (0.43 per set). Overall, she was fourth among all IIAC players in assists (9.12 per set), second in attack percentage (.383) and third in aces (0.40 per set).

Coe head coach DeAnn Woodin says, “The IIAC schedule is going to be as competitive as ever this year. With many experienced returners, as well as highly talented newcomers, every night out is going to be a battle from start to finish. Our student-athletes and staff are looking forward to continuing to climb the ladder within the conference and on a national level.”

	University of Dubuque Spartans 12-21 overall, 2-5 IIAC (tie-fifth)
	Head Coach: April Elsbernd (6th season) Record at School (yrs): 58-102 (5) Career Record (yrs): same IIAC Titles (last): 2 (1995) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 2 (1995)	Starters returning/lost – 5 / 2 Letterwinners returning/lost – 12 / 5 All-IIAC players returning – 1 (Basierak-12-13) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 1 (Tranel-13)

Dubuque returns five starters and 12 letter winners from last season’s 12-21 team that finished in a tie for fifth place in the Conference with a 2-5 mark. The Spartans will be led by junior outside hitter Klaudia Basierak, a two-time all-conference pick and the 2012 IIAC Freshman of the Year. She posted a team-high 366 kills and 28 service aces and ranked second on the team in digs (285) and fourth in blocks (35). Basierak also ranked second among IIAC players – both in league play and overall – in kills, averaging 3.45 per set overall and 3.65 per set overall. Senior middle hitter Amy Tranel led Dubuque with 70 blocks (10 solo) and ranked second in kills with 192 and service aces with 26. Tranel, who received all-IIAC honorable mention last season, ranked fourth in the league in blocks (0.89 per set in IIAC play) and seventh in attack percentage (.255).

Sophomore setter Hannah Zieser becomes the full-time facilitator of the offense this season after ranking second on the team with 369 assists in 2013. She also posted 54 kills, 10 service aces, 63 digs and ranked fourth on the team with 37 blocks (four solo).

Dubuque head coach April Elsbernd says, "The University of Dubuque volleyball program is looking forward to returning to the gym this August and continuing the growth that comes with each season. With a strong group of leaders, a returner in every position, and some talented fresh faces; the Spartans' goal will be to compete at the highest level every day. As each IIAC team improves, the more competitive the conference match-ups get. It will be exciting to see how the 2014 season plays out!”

	Loras College Duhawks 15-17 overall, 4-3 IIAC (tie-third)
	Head Coach: Jenna Ness (2nd season) Record at School (yrs): 15-17 (1) Career Record (yrs): same IIAC Titles (last): 2 (2010) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 2 (2008)	Starters returning/lost – 5 / 1 Letterwinners returning/lost – 11 / 2 All-IIAC players returning – 1 (Blake-13) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 2 (Rielly-12, Kennedy-13)

Loras returns five starters and 11 letter winners from last season’s 15-17 team that finished in a tie for third place in the Conference with a 4-3 mark. The Duhawks led all Iowa Conference schools in digs last season at 18.60 per set due mainly to the fact that they went the distance 11 times last season, going 4-7 in 5-set matches.

Senior setter Shawn Rielly, an all-IIAC honorable mention in 2012, will help facilitate the offense for Loras in 2014. Reilly posted a team-high 850 assists and ranked third on the squad in both service aces (29) and digs (306). She also had 31 blocks (four solo). Rielly ranked fifth in the conference in assists at 8.32 per set.

Sophomore outside hitters Tara Blake and Danielle Kennedy emerged as Loras' top two offensive threats in their maiden season as collegians. Blake, an all-conference pick, led the Duhawks with 294 kills, ranked second on the team with 32 service aces and 378 digs and posted 41 blocks (seven solo). She ranked eighth among IIAC players in digs (3.23 per set) and10th in kills (2.51 per set). In league play, Blake's averaged jumpe to 2.88, ranking her sixth.

Kennedy, an all-IIAC honorable mention last season, was the team's leading blocker with 106 (25 solo). She also ranked second on the team with 232 kills and posted 117 digs. Kennedy tied for second in the conference in blocks at 0.96 per set. Overall, she averaged 0.90 blocks per set to rank second among all IIAC players. Kennedy also ranked seventh among league players in hitting percentage (.275).

Loras head coach Jenna Ness says, “We are excited to get the season underway and start training and competing. We will bring a lot more experience on the court this Fall and I am sure it will be a battle until the end throughout the conference.”

	Luther College Norse 16-19 overall, 4-3 IIAC (tie-third)
	Head Coach: Danielle Lynch (4th season) Record at School (yrs): 48-50 (3) Career Record (yrs): same IIAC Titles (last): 0 IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 0	Starters returning/lost – 4 / 2 Letterwinners returning/lost – 12 / 3 All-IIAC players returning – 1 (Johnson-13) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 1 (Ryan-13)

Luther returns four starters and 12 letter winners from last season’s 16-19 team that tied for third place in the Conference with a 4-3 mark. It marked the team's best finish since tying for second in 2009 – a year that ended with Luther's first NCAA Tournament berth. The 2014 Norse will be led by junior outside hitter Natalee Johnson and senior middle Leah Broderick. Johnson, an all-IIAC pick last season, led the team with 381 kills – an average of 2.98 per set. She ranked third in the conference in kills (3.20) and was seventh among all league players (2.98). Johnson also added 133 digs and 70 digs (nine solo). Broderick ranked fourth on the team in kills with 259 with (2.02 per set) and was second in service aces with 33, but her impact came at the net where she led all IIAC players in blocks with 121 (15 solo). In league play, she averaged 1.28 blocks per set as the Norse posted a league-high 2.40 per-set average as a team.

The Norse offense will be facilitated by junior setter Lindsey Ryan, who racked up 1,258 assists, 27 service aces, 245 digs, 54 kills and 56 blocks (five solo) en route to receiving honorable mention all-IIAC plaudits from the league's coaches. Ryan led the league in assists at 10.76 per set while also posting the league's top overall total. She ranked fourth on the team in digs.

Luther head coach Danielle Lynch says, "The 2014 season in the Iowa Conference should be, like always, very competitive. After finishing in the top half of the conference in 2013 our team is determined to improve on where we left off in November.”

	Simpson College Storm 17-14 overall, 2-5 IIAC (tie-fifth)
	Head Coach: Lana Smith (16th season) Record at School (yrs): 281-232 (15) Career Record (yrs): same IIAC Titles (last): 8 (2009) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 6 (2007)	Starters returning/lost – 4 / 2 Letterwinners returning/lost – 8 / 4 All-IIAC players returning – 0 All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 2 (Blaser-12-13, Kieffer-13)

Simpson returns four starters and eight letter winners from last season’s 17-14 team that tied for fifth place in the league with a 2-5 mark. Among those returners are three of the program's top four offensive players from 2013. Junior outside hitter Tabitha Blaser, a two-time all-IIAC honorable mention, led the team with 349 kills, ranked second in digs with 310 and fourth in service aces with 25. She ranked ninth in the league in kills (2.81 per set). Blaser also averaged 3.12 kills per set in all matches to rank fourth among all IIAC players.

Blaser will be joined in the middle by junior MacKenzie McGraw and sophomore Torey Buenger. McGraw ranked fourth on the team with 157 kills and was second in blocks with 44 (10 solo). Buenger played in only 58 of 112 sets, compiling 85 kills, 20 service aces, 3 digs and 15 blocks. She posted a .267 attack percentage and averaged 0.34 aces per set, both of which ranked eight among IIAC players.

Junior setter Katie Kieffer, a 2012 all-IIAC honorable mention, posted 961 assists to rank fifth-best among IIAC players. She also ranked second on the team with 39 service aces, third in blocks with 38 (10 solo) and fourth in digs with 207. In league play, he averaged 8.19 assists per set to rank sixth.

Simpson head coach Lana Smith says, “We have a solid core of experienced players returning that will be complimented by several newcomers that have the potential to make a positive impact on our overall performance. We hope to build momentum with our overall competitiveness leading into the Iowa Conference Championship. Expectations are high...I predict the race for the IIAC Championship with be extremely competitive.”

	Wartburg College Knights 26-12 overall, 7-0 IIAC (champion)
	Co-Head Coaches: Jennifer Walker (17th season) / Doug Frazell (2nd season) Record at School (yrs): 365-211 (16) / 26-12 (1) Career Record (yrs): 368-234 (17) / 26-12 (1) IIAC Titles (last): 3 (2013) IIAC Tourney Titles (last): 5 (2013)	Starters returning/lost – 4 / 2 + libero Letterwinners returning/lost – 9 / 5 All-IIAC players returning – 1 (Wilson-12-13) All-IIAC hon. mention returning – 1 (Wilson-11)

Wartburg returns four starters and nine letter winners from last season's 26-12 teamthat accounted for that swept through the Iowa Conference with a 7-0 mark, won the Iowa Conference tournament and dropped a five-setter to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Championship. The Knights led the league in hitting percentage (.234) and opponent hitting percentage (.108) in 2013, but if they hope to secure a third straight IIAC title, they'll need to find replacements for a quartet of all-conference players (Sieck, Forsyth, Niemann, Shinstine) who accounted for 58 percent of the team's kills, 89 percent of the team's assists, 52 percent of the team's digs and 74 percent of the team's blocks.

Leading the Orange and Black will be senior middle hitter Bailey Wilson – a two-time all-Iowa Conference selection. Wilson ranked second on the team with 367 kills and posted a team-high 103 blocks (31 solo) whie also contributing 22 assists, 150 digs and 34 service aces. She was the league's most accurate attacker last season, posting a league-leading .397 hitting percentage. Wilson also ranked fifth in the league in kills (3.08 per set). Overall, she led all IIAC players in hitting percentage (.394), ranked fifth in blocks (0.75 per set) and eighth in kills (2.68 per set).

Senior defensive specialist Karly Bown played in all but one set last season (136 of 137), leading the team with 73 service aces and ranking fourth with 291 digs. She also added 25 assists while leading all IIAC players in total aces and ranking second in aces per set (0.54 overall / 0.58 in IIAC play).

The Knights will look to junior setter Emma Harmeyer to direct the offense – a position vacated by the graduation of two-time Iowa Conference MVP Ramey Sieck. Harmeyer played sparingly last season, appearing in 12 sets with two kills, 22 assists, three aces, three digs and two blocks. Despite her limited court time, she tied for fifth on the team in assists.

Wartburg co-head coach Jennifer Walker says, “We have several positions left open through graduation from last year's team. I think for that reason alone some people may count us out for this season. What our spring season showed us, however, was that we have a solid and committed core ready to take over those open positions. It will be exciting to see how our line-up will develop throughout the season.

As last year showed, the possibility of an upset exists every time our conference teams step on the court. I don't feel there is an outright number one pick at this time. We have a lot of teams that could challenge for the title this season. It will be a competitive race to the end!”

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