ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst volleyball team will begin its 2011 season at the Fairmont State Falcon Fest Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Lakers face West Virginia Wesleyan at 11:15 a.m. and then take on host Fairmont State at 3:45 p.m. The next day, Hurst plays Davis & Elkins at 9 a.m. before wrapping up action against West Liberty at 3:45 p.m.
 
Mercyhurst went 16-16 last season, winning five of its six matches against West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC).  The Lakers swept Davis & Elkins in three sets on September 10 last year.
 
Wesleyan posted a 13-18 mark in 2010, finishing in an eighth-place tie in the WVIAC. Fairmont went 20-10, taking second in the conference. D&E went 14-22, tying for ninth in the WVIAC with West Liberty, who won 13 games.
 
In the 2011 WVIAC preseason poll, Fairmont is projected to finish fourth and Wesleyan sixth, with D&E tying tenth and West Liberty eighth.
 
Mercyhurst returns four starters from last season, including the team leader in kills, junior Becky Leusch. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) preseason poll has the squad finishing sixth in the Western Division.