GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Pitt has been picked to win its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball title in a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches.
The two-time reigning ACC Champion Panthers received 13 first-place votes and 195 points, as coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Pitt returns all four All-ACC honorees from last year’s squad, and head coach Dan Fisher has been selected as the ACC Coach of the Year for the last two seasons. The Panthers finished the 2018 season 30-2 overall, with a 17-1 mark in conference play and served as hosts for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Florida State received two first-place votes and 174 points. Louisville (167 points), Notre Dame (164) and North Carolina (120) were slated third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Syracuse was picked sixth with 118 points, followed by Duke (113), Clemson (105), NC State (101) and Miami with 90. Georgia Tech (86 points), Boston College (52), Virginia Tech (39), Virginia (33) and Wake Forest (18) round out the league.
Fifteen of the 18 honorees on the 2019 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team earned 2018 All-ACC nods, with eight earning first team designations and two earning annual awards.
Pitt’s four representatives led all ACC squads. Senior right side hitter Nika Markovic, senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk, redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams and junior outside hitter Kayla Lund received the honor.
Three student-athletes from Notre Dame made the team, with sophomore right side hitter Sydney Bent and sophomore outside hitter Charley Niego, in addition to sophomore setter Zoe Nunez. Clemson and Florida State each had two representatives, and Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, NC State, Syracuse and Virginia had one each.
The 2019 season begins on Friday, Aug. 30, with 14 league teams in action. The 2019 ACC volleyball champion will be determined by the final regular season standings, with that team receiving an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.
2019 ACC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
- Pitt (195 points, 13 First-Place Votes)
- Florida State (174, 2 First-Place Votes)
- Louisville (167)
- Notre Dame (164)
- North Carolina (120)
- Syracuse (118)
- Duke (113)
- Clemson (105)
- NC State (101)
- Miami (90)
- Georgia Tech (86)
- Boston College (52)
- Virginia Tech (39)
- Virginia (33)
- Wake Forest (18)
2019 ACC Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
Brooke Bailey, OH, R-Jr., Clemson
Kaylin Korte, OH, R-Jr., Clemson
Payton Schwantz, OH, Jr., Duke
Payton Caffrey, OH, Sr., Florida State
Taryn Knuth, MB, Jr., Florida State
Mikaila Dowd, OH, So., Georgia Tech
Melanie McHenry, OH, Sr., Louisville
Elizaveta Lukianova, OH, R-Jr., Miami
Melissa Evans, OPP, Jr., NC State
Sydney Bent, RS, So., Notre Dame
Charley Niego, OH, So., Notre Dame
Zoe Nunez, S, So., Notre Dame
Kayla Lund, OH, Jr., Pitt
Nika Markovic, RS, Sr., Pitt
Layne Van Buskirk, MB, Sr., Pitt
Stephanie Williams, OH, R-Sr., Pitt
Polina Shemanova, OH, So., Syracuse
Sarah Billiard, OH/RS, Jr., Virginia