For the Week of August 30-September 05, 2010:

DAC Players of the Week

Volleyball – Hitter: Ruth Johnson; Dickinson State; Junior; Outside Hitter; Prince George, BC ~ Johnson hit .415 with 32 kills (3.20/game), nine digs (0.90/game), three solo blocks (0.30/game) and 11 assist blocks (1.10/game) as the Blue Hawks went 1-3 at the Montana Tech Tournament.

Volleyball – Setter: Kristina Eric; Dickinson State; Freshman; Setter; Sokolac, Bosnia ~ Eric recorded 121 assists (8.64/game), 45 digs (3.21/game), five service aces (0.36/game) and nine assist blocks (0.64/game) as the Blue Hawks won one of four matches at the Montana Tech Tournament.

Volleyball – Libero: Rebecca Johnson; Dickinson State; Freshman; Libero; Dickinson, ND ~ Johnson had 90 digs (6.43/game), two service aces (0.14/game), a .947 reception percentage and an .865 service percentage as the Blue Hawks had a 1-3 record at a tournament at Montana Tech.

The Week Ahead

(All times are local)

DAC News & Notes

- Defending conference co-champions Dickinson State and Minot State sit one and two in the Dakota Athletic Conference Preseason Football Coaches’ Poll.  The Blue Hawks received five first place votes to edge the Beavers out for the top spot. Minot State picked up the other three first place ballots.  Black Hills State placed third in the poll, followed by Jamestown College, South Dakota Mines, Valley City State, Dakota State and Mayville State.  The poll was conducted by the Dakota Athletic Conference.

- Former Dickinson State volleyball coach Dave Moody has been selected to the NAIA Hall of Fame. Moody led the Blue Hawks to 12 regular season conference championships, eight trips to the NAIA National Tournament, five appearances in the elite eight and a national championship in 2000. He was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2000. In 18 seasons, Moody led the Blue Hawks to a 466-159 record.  He joins former Blue Hawk players Funda Aliskan and Neslihan Yilmaz as NAIA Hall of Famers and is the second DSU coach to be honored, joining football coach Hank Biesiot. Moody will be inducted on November 29 at the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, IA.

- Biola, CA has been tabbed as the No. 1 team in the NAIA Women's Cross Country Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Eagles were awarded 15 of 21 possible first-place votes for 586 points. Second-ranked California State-San Marcos earned six first-places to tally 571 points. Malone, OH is listed third with 532 points, followed by Simon Fraser, BC and Azusa Pacific, CA tied at fourth with 531 points to round out the top five.  Black Hills State is rated tenth in the preseason poll with 418 points.  Jamestown College and Dakota State also received votes.

- Defending National Champion Malone, OH has been picked as the No. 1 team in the NAIA Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Pioneers were awarded 15 of 20 possible first-place votes for 555 points to earn their fourth-straight preseason No. 1 ranking. Second-ranked Southern Oregon earned five first-place nods for 546 points. The top five is rounded out by No. 3 Shawnee State, OH with 516 points, No. 4 Embry-Riddle, FL with 508 points and No. 5 British Columbia with 448 points. Dakota State placed 15th in the preseason rankings with 273 points.  Black Hills State and Minot State also received votes.

For the Week of August 23-29, 2010:

The Week Ahead

DAC News & Notes

- Defending conference champion Jamestown College is the pick of the coaches in the Dakota Athletic Conference Preseason Volleyball Poll.  The Jimmies, who return all-conference performers Shannon Fee, Sam Revering and Katie Zent, picked up seven first place votes to top the preseason balloting.  Black Hills State, who won the DAC tournament to qualify for their second straight national tournament, finished second in the poll. Dickinson State picked up the final first place vote to finish third. South Dakota Mines is picked fourth, Mayville State is fifth, Minot State sixth, while Dakota State and Valley City State tied for seventh.  The poll was conducted by the Dakota Athletic Conference.

- For the third-straight year, Fresno Pacific, CA will begin the season at No. 1 in the Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, announced by the NAIA. The Sunbirds secured all 19 possible first-place votes, earning 529 points and extending their streak to 35 consecutive weeks as the nation’s top-ranked team. Fresno Pacific and the Golden State Athletic Conference swept the top three spots with Concordia, CA coming in at No. 2 and California Baptist at No. 3. The GSAC teams are followed by No. 4 Lee, TN and No. 5 Northwestern, IA. The GSAC leads all conferences with six teams ranked in the top 25, five of which are in the top 10.  No DAC teams were rated in the preseason poll.  Jamestown College and Black Hills State did receive votes.

- The NAIA will announce the Preseason Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Polls on Wednesday, August. 25.

- The DAC Preseason Football Coaches’ Poll will be released on Wednesday, August 25.

- Two women’s athletic teams at Valley City State University were recently recognized for academic excellence during the 2009-2010 academic year by their respective national associations.  The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named the Viking Women’s Basketball team to the 2009-10 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. This award, given to teams in the NAIA and NCAA, and Junior College/Community Colleges, awards teams throughout the nation that carry the highest grade point averages (GPA) for the entire season. The GPA of VCSU’s Women’s Basketball team was 3.688 on a 4.0 scale, second nationally in the NAIA and third in the entire WBCA. In addition, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced recently that the Viking Volleyball team was recognized with the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season. The award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.

- Dakota State University’s football team volunteered to help the Habitat for Humanity project in Madison, S.D. last weekend. Partial Trojan football team helped paint houses and other projects.  This is one of the many projects that Habitat for Humanity does to be able to help and support the building of houses in the Madison area.  The Trojan Football team had their time to help and enhance their involvement with the community as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character program.  DSU football student-athletes took part of community/volunteer service for a minimum of 10 hours each semester.

For the Week of August 16-22, 2010:

The Week Ahead

DAC News & Notes

- Coming off a second straight NAIA Football National Championship, Sioux Falls, SD holds the number one position in the  NAIA Football Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll.  National runner-up Lindenwood, MO is rated second with Carroll, MT third, St. Xavier, IL fourth and Morningside, IA fifth.  Defending DAC co-champions Minot State and Dickinson State are rated in the preseason balloting. The Beavers, coming off an 8-3 record in 2009, are ranked fourteenth, while the Blue Hawks, fresh off a 7-4 season, are ranked eighteenth.

- The DAC Preseason Volleyball Poll will be announced on Wednesday, August 18.  The NAIA Preseason Volleyball is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, August 17.

- The NAIA will announce the Preseason Cross Country rankings on Wednesday, August 25.