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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta University women's volleyball team was voted to finish third in the 2017 Peach Belt Conference preseason coaches poll, according to a vote of the league's head coaches released on Tuesday.
USC Aiken was picked to finish first and captured four first-place votes and two second-place votes for 34 points, just one ahead of Flagler College who took second. Augusta was third with 21 points, again just one point ahead of Lander in fourth with 20. Francis Marion, Georgia College and UNC Pembroke rounded out the voting.
Augusta has been steadily climbing the standings over the last two years and are poised to make a run in 2017. The Jaguars return four of their top six hitters from last season including second-team All-Conference junior Blair Bolton and 2016 PBC Freshman of the Year Jessica Hedrick. Also back is setter Payton Murchie and joining the team is setter McKenzey Beck, who was named a two-time first team All-American in junior college and won a national championship.
USC Aiken is coming off a season of unprecedented success, winning a share of their second straight regular-season championship, hosting the NCAA Southeast Regional for the second time in a row and making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Pacers were 31-5 overall last year and return four seniors from that squad including All-Conference standouts Emily Teelon and Julia Forster who were both named preseason All-Conference. Seniors Alicia Hines and Lauren Howard also return.
Flagler was the 2016 PBC regular-season co-Champions alongside USC Aiken with a 16-2 conference mark, 24-7 overall. The Saints also won their second straight PBC Tournament title and made their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight years. The 2017 squad returns Tournament MVP and first-team All-Conference selection Sara Davis for her senior season. Also back is second-team All-Conference setter Tara Savisky. Raquel Kulak also joins the team after being named second-team All-Conference for Armstrong State in 2016.
Lander has played in each of the last two NCAA tournaments after finishing in the top four in the league standings. The Bearcats return seniors Kirstin Martindale and Reyonia Whipple along with junior Sophia Perkins at setter. Lander will bring in five freshmen for the 2017 but have also added junior college transfers Imari Ashley and Mariah Wallace.
The 2017 volleyball coaches poll is below. Teams were given six points for a first-place vote, five for a second and so on. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
2017 Peach Belt Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
Total |
|
1. |
USC Aiken |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
34 |
|
2. |
Flagler |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
|
3. |
Augusta |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
21 |
|
4. |
Lander |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
20 |
|
5. |
Francis Marion |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
18 |
|
6. |
Georgia College |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
15 |
|
7. |
UNC Pembroke |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
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