SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University women’s volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the Commonwealth Conference in the upcoming season, according to the league’s eight head coaches.

Susquehanna, under first-year head coach Ann Clements, finished 23-8 overall and 5-2 in the Commonwealth Conference last season, qualifying for the league playoffs for the third time in the last four years. Nine letterwinners return to the court in 2002, including reigning Commonwealth Rookie of the Year and first-team All-Conference middle blocker Kerri Eshleman.

Juniata, which has won 243 straight league matches and 20 consecutive conference championships, received five first-place votes to earn the top spot in the poll, followed by Moravian, Susquehanna, Messiah, Lebanon Valley, Widener, Elizabethtown and Albright.

The top four teams in the standings will compete in the conference playoffs for the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Volleyball tournament.

The Crusaders open the 2002 season at the Franklin & Marshall Scramble Tournament on Saturday at 8 a.m. Susquehanna’s first conference game will be Tuesday, September 17 vs. Messiah at 7 p.m. in O.W. Houts Gymnasium.