Rochester, MN-

The 2018 volleyball season across the Minnesota College Athletic Conference will begin in earnest this week, with the MCAC Crossover Tournament hosted by St. Cloud Technical & Community College on Friday, August 24 and Saturday, August 25.

Twelve MCAC programs will take part in the Crossover, an early-season opportunity to compete against some of the top NJCAA Division III programs in the county.  The current NJCAA Top 10 rankings feature four teams from the Conference, and each will be participating in St. Cloud.  During their preparation for the season this week, coaches from around the Conference took time to offer their pre-season rankings and predicted finish within the Northern and Southern Division of MCAC volleyball. 

Central Lakes College, currently ranked third in the nation by the NJCAA was also tabbed by Division coaches to repeat as Division champs.  Crossover host SCTCC, sitting #5 in the NJCAA national poll, was tabbed as the favorite in the Southern Division ranks, with M State-Fergus Falls (#10 in NJCAA poll) a close second. 

Ridgewater College, the #9 ranked team nationally, is one of several MCAC programs that will feature a new coach on the sidelines this fall. 

Courtney Lemke will lead the Warriors in 2018, having served as an assistant at MIAC program Augsburg College in 2017.  Northland CTC will look to Courtney Norby as their new head coach and Minnesota West CTC will look to build on a strong 2017 season with first-year mentor Rebecca Colon at the helm.  Earlier this summer, long-time Mesabi Range College head coach Jojo Scott moved on to become the Athletic Director at Eveleth-Gilbert High School, paving the way for Sara Matuszak to take over the MRC program after leading Hibbing in 2017.  Nina Kangas was elevated to head coach at Hibbing Community College and will look to build on her strong connections in the Hibbing area, having earned NJCAA All-American honors as a Cardinal student-athlete.

Additionally, two MCAC coaches begin their second season with the 2018 campaign, as Sarah Herlofsky (Anoka-Ramsey CC) and Krystal Brodeen (Vermilion CC) will have their first recruiting classes on the court this fall. 

Based on votes received from Conference coaches, the complete 2018 MCAC Volleyball coaches polls are as follows: 

For coverage of the 2018 Minnesota College Athletic Conference volleyball season, please bookmark: http://www.mcacsports.org/sports/wvball/index

This release sponsored in part by: 

The United Heroes League seeks to keep military kids healthy and active through sports while their parents are serving the nation.  The United Heroes League is headquartered in Hastings, Minnesota and offers several opportunities for colleges, businesses, organizations and individuals to help support their cause.  The #1 goal for the United Heros League is to ensure that all 5 million military kids are able to develop critical life skills through sports.  This intense focus on youth development and serving the families of our miliary service members motivates the United Heroes League to keep programs focused. This focus has also inspired over 90 professional athletes and over 30 sports franchises to lend their name and support to the United Heroes League.

About the Minnesota College Athletic Conference

The Minnesota College Athletic Conference is the organizational body for NJCAA-affiliated two-year technical and community college athletic programs in the Minnesota State system.  The mission of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference is to advance intercollegiate athletics by providing an engaging and supportive environment for success of our student athletes and competition among member institutions.  The MCAC is committed to the guiding principles of encouraging the development and success of student athletes, promoting the integrity, honesty and loyalty to member schools as well as upholding the sustainability of conference athletic programs.