Cyclones Picked Sixth; Manns Preseason All-Big 12

AMES, Iowa ? The Iowa State volleyball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 in a vote of the league's coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday. ISU junior setter Kaylee Manns was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team for the second time in her career.

The Cyclones tallied 55 votes for sixth in the poll, sitting just behind Missouri, which received 62 votes. Texas tallied 10 of 11 first place votes to earn the preseason nod for first while Kansas State garnered the other top vote and was picked third overall behind Nebraska. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.

Texas A&M was fourth with 71 votes followed by Missouri. The Cyclones were picked ahead of Colorado, Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Tech.

Manns, a native of Topeka, Kan., holds the top-two single season assist marks in school history after dishing out 1,402 assists in her sophomore campaign. The junior was fourth in Big 12 matches with 12.60 assists per set and she recorded 15 assist-dig double-doubles.

Iowa State will open the season at the Panther Invitational on Aug. 29, in Milwaukee, Wis.

2008 Preseason Volleyball Poll
1.   Texas (10)  100
2.   Nebraska  88
3.   Kansas State (1) 84
4.   Texas A&M  71
5.   Missouri  62
6.   Iowa State  55
7.   Colorado  38
8.   Baylor  37
      Oklahoma  37
10. Kansas  23
11. Texas Tech  10

Preseason Co-Players of the Year: Jordan Larson, Nebraska, OH, Sr., 6-2, Hooper, Neb./Logan View
Juliann Faucette, Texas, OH, So., 6-2, San Diego, Calif./Westview

Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Sydney Anderson, Nebraska, So., S, 6-0, Salt Lake City, Utah/Utah

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Rachael Adams, Texas, MB, Fr., 6-2, Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame

Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Player, School (Pos., Yr., Ht., Hometown/Previous School)
Taylor Barnes, Baylor (S, Jr., 5-11, Arlington, Texas/Martin)
Anna Breyfogle, Baylor (MB, Jr., 6-0, Buda, Texas/Hays)
Kaylee Manns, Iowa State (S, Jr., 5-10, Topeka, Kan./Washburn Rural)
Natalie Uhart, Kansas (MB, Sr., 6-2, Lansing, Kan./Lansing)
Megan Farr, Kansas State (MB, Sr., 5-10, Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan)
Rita Liliom, Kansas State (OH, Sr., 6-0, Budapest, Hungary/Csik Ferenc)
Nataly Korobkova, Kansas State (OH, Sr., 6-3, Krasnoyarsk, Russia/State Siberian Technological)
Weiwen Wang, Missouri (MB, So., 6-0, Nanjing, China/Jiangsu Education Institute)
Kori Cooper, Nebraska (MB, Jr., 6-2, Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo)
Jordan Larson, Nebraska (OH, Sr., 6-2, Hooper, Neb./Logan View)
Francie Ekwerekwu, Oklahoma (MB, So., 5-11, Arlington, Texas/Arlington)
Ashley Engle, Texas (S/RS, Jr., 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza)
Juliann Faucette, Texas (OH, So., 6-2, San Diego, Calif./Westview)
Destinee Hooker, Texas (OH, Jr., 6-4, San Antonio, Texas/Southwest)
Lauren Paolini, Texas (MB, Sr., 6-5, Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline)
Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M (OH, Jr., 6-2, Parker, Colo./Cal State Northridge)
Mary Batis, Texas A&M (OH, Jr., 6-0, San Antonio, Texas/Clark)
Fourteen players are named to the preseason all-conference team - a tie occurred in voting to result in 17 members.