The NCAA News - News Features

Division II

Barry will have to fend off several contenders if it hopes to retain its title

EVENT: 1996 Division II Women's Volleyball Championship.

OVERVIEW: It's crowded at the top, with several teams vying to dethrone defending champion Barry. Northern Michigan, 1993 and 1994 champions and runner-up in 1995, is the top threat at 25-3 and 16-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Wildcats boast five players with more than 200 kills, topped by April Evans with 281. Evans also ranks in the Division II top 10 in hitting percentage at .418. Senior setter Liu Jun averages more than 12 assists per game and is among the national leaders .... One of the Wildcats' three losses was a 3-0 setback at Cal State Bakersfield, which stands 24-2 and has a 22-match winning streak. Melanie Jensen is the Roadrunners' top threat at the net with 275 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. Nicole Hintz and Becca Foltz have combined for 497 kills, and Tammy Barrus is one of the nation's best setters, averaging more than 12 assists per game .... The North Central Conference has six teams ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association's top 25. Conference leader North Dakota State is 25-3 overall and 13-1 in league play after a 3-0 victory against St. Cloud State. Chrystal Olson leads the Bison in kills with 303, and senior setter Pam Stencel became the 12th player in Division II history to reach 5,000 career assists. Unfortunately, the milestone occurred during the Bison's 3-0 loss to Augustana (South Dakota), which also figures into the national mix at 27-3 overall and 12-2 in the NCC. Another NCC standout, Nebraska-Omaha, is 26-2 overall and 13-2 in the league. Setter Amy Steffel was named NCC player of the week after averaging more than 16 assists in victories against South Dakota State and Augustana .... Central Missouri State had spent much of the campaign atop the AVCA poll, but its reign ended with losses to ranked opponents North Alabama and Texas Woman's University. "We have a strong middle hitter in Chris Kalehuawehe, who's doing an extremely good job in middle blocking and attacking for us," Jennies coach Peggy Martin said. "She and outside hitter Sarah Dallas are carrying the bulk of the offense. It's kind of an amazing year for us. We had only two kids returning who had experience, and they were playing only front row. It's a fun year in Division II -- there's no dominant team. Any of the eight teams that get there could win it, and who knows who's going to get there?" .... Other possibilities include Barry, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Kearney, Michigan Tech and New Haven.

FIELD: The 28-team field includes four teams each from the Great Lakes, South, South Central and Southwest regions and three teams each from the Atlantic, North Central, Northeast and Northwest regions. Teams were selected November 17.

DATES AND SITES: Regional competition will be November 22-23 or November 23-24 on campuses of competing institutions. The finals will be December 7-9 on the campus of one of the participating institutions.

INFORMATION/RESULTS: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1686 for bracket/schedule, 5326 for semifinal results, 5327 for third-place match results and 5328 for championship-match results. Game scores and pairings also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Championship results will be published in the December 16 issue of The NCAA News.

CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: Only a handful of teams have won this championship, but most in that group has done so more than once. Portland State leads with four titles, trailed by Cal State Northridge, UC Riverside, Northern Michigan and West Texas A&M with two apiece .... UC Riverside and Portland State lead the field in tournament appearances with 14 each, followed by Central Missouri State with 13 and New Haven and North Dakota State with 12.