GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Pitt has been chosen as the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball preseason favorite in a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches.
The reigning ACC Co-Champion Panthers received all 14 possible first-place votes and 196 points, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Pitt returns all five All-ACC honorees from last year’s squad, and head coach Dan Fisher was the 2017 pick for ACC Coach of the Year. The Panthers finished last season 26-7 overall with a 18-2 mark in conference play, and advanced to the NCAA Second Round before falling to No. 1 seed Penn State.
Louisville, also a reigning ACC Co-Champion, received one first-place vote and 180 points. Florida State (171 points), Notre Dame (137 points) and Duke (134 points) were slated third, fourth and fifth, respectively. North Carolina was picked sixth with 121 points, followed by Miami and NC State (117 points each), Syracuse (110 points) and Georgia Tech in 10th with 68 points. Virginia Tech (55 points), Clemson (54 points), Wake Forest (51 points), Virginia (37 points) and Boston College (27 points) rounded out the voting.
Sixteen of the 18 honorees on the 2018 All-ACC Volleyball Preseason Team earned 2017 All-ACC nods, including nine first-team selections and three season award winners.
Louisville led all conference teams with four representatives on the preseason all-conference team, highlighted by 2017 Setter of the Year Wilma Rivera and 2017 Defensive Player of the Year Molly Sauer. Senior middle blocker Jasmine Bennett and junior outside hitter Melanie McHenry joined their teammates in receiving preseason all-conference nods.
Three student-athletes from Pitt made the team, with senior setter Kamalani Akeo, junior right side hitter Nika Markovic and redshirt junior outside hitter Stephanie Williams all receiving the honor. Florida State had two representatives, including 2017 Freshman of the Year Taryn Knuth. NC State and Notre Dame also had two representatives on the team, and Clemson, Duke, Miami, Syracuse and Virginia Tech had one each.
The 2018 season begins on Friday, Aug. 24, with 14 league teams in action. The 2018 ACC volleyball champion will be determined by the final regular season standings, with that team receiving an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.
2018 ACC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Pitt (196 points) (14 first-place votes)
2. Louisville (180) (1 first-place vote)
3. Florida State (171)
4. Notre Dame (137)
5. Duke (134)
6. North Carolina (121)
T7. Miami (117)
T7. NC State (117)
9. Syracuse (110)
10. Georgia Tech (68)
11. Virginia Tech (55)
12. Clemson (54)
13. Wake Forest (51)
14. Virginia (37)
15. Boston College (27)
2018 ACC Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
Kaylin Korte, Sr., OH/RS, Clemson
Leah Meyer, Jr., MB, Duke
Payton Caffrey, Jr., OH, Florida State
Taryn Knuth, So., MB, Florida State
Jasmine Bennett, Sr., MB, Louisville
Melanie McHenry, Jr., OH, Louisville
Wilma Rivera, Sr., S, Louisville
Molly Sauer, Sr., L, Louisville
Haley Templeton, R-Sr., S, Miami
Melissa Evans, So., OPP, NC State
Kylie Pickrell, Sr., S, NC State
Ryann DeJarld, Sr., L, Notre Dame
Jemma Yeadon, Jr., OH, Notre Dame
Kamalani Akeo, Sr., S, Pitt
Nika Markovic, Jr., RS, Pitt
Stephanie Williams, R-Jr., OH, Pitt
Santita Ebangwese, Sr., MB, Syracuse
Jaila Tolbert, Sr., RS, Virginia Tech