Picked to defend Big XII

[Husker_Power]

College Volleyball Notes: NU picked to defend Big 12

BY CHAD PURCELL

WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

 

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Defending national champion Nebraska was picked to win the Big 12 in the conferences preseason coaches poll released Tuesday, and Huskers star senior Sarah Pavan was named the preseason player of the year.

 

It's the 11th consecutive season Nebraska will be favored to win the Big 12, and 2007 marks the third straight year that Pavan was named preseason player of the year. In both 2005 and 2006, Pavan went on to grab the league's regular-season player of the year award.

 

Nebraska, which opens practice Wednesday, also led the league with five preseason all-Big 12 picks. Joining Pavan on the honor roll are Tracy Stalls, Christina Houghtelling, Jordan Larson and Rachel Holloway.

 

Texas, which like Nebraska returns a roster loaded with talent, was picked to finish second in the conference. The Longhorns who visit the Huskers on Sept. 12 and host NU on Oct. 24 landed Ashley Engle, Destinee Hooker and Michelle Moriarty on the preseason all-Big 12 list.

 

Additionally, Texas brings in preseason freshman of the year Juliann Faucette, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter from San Diego.

 

The Huskers received 10 of a possible 11 first-place votes in the poll, and the Longhorns grabbed the other. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams.

 

Missouri's Tatum Ailes, a senior libero out of Bellevue West, also earned a spot on the all-conference team heading into 2007.

 

Ailes' Tigers were picked to finish third in the Big 12, followed by Texas A&M, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas Tech.

 

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CU coach's family grows by one

 

Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth on Friday afternoon gave birth to her second child, a girl named Hayden Isabel Bernthal Booth. The baby weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

 

The Bluejays will open practice today with assistants Paul Giesselmann and Angie Oxley Behrens guiding the team through its first workouts.

 

The 32-year-old Booth will be gone on maternity leave the next two weeks as she spends time with the new baby, her husband, Erik, and her 2-year-old daughter Reese.

 

Booth expects to resume her coaching duties full-time starting on Aug. 20. The Bluejays' regular-season opener will be Aug. 24 against Middle Tennessee at the Civic Auditorium.