August 30, 2016

Reigning region title holders ranked fourth in preseason SAC poll

ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second straight season the South Atlantic Conference’s coaches picked Carson-Newman volleyball to finish the season fourth as the league released in 2016 preseason coaches’ poll Tuesday.

ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the second straight season the South Atlantic Conference's coaches picked Carson-Newman volleyball to finish the season fourth as the league released in 2016 preseason coaches' poll Tuesday.

"Not a big fan of preseason polls, but I like the fact that it gives your team the respect," Carson-Newman coach Dave Franklin said. "Your players know that other people think that you are good and that builds your confidence. While they may not mean a whole lot towards how we are going to finish the season, they give us some confidence and it's great to see other teams recognize that we have a talent level."

The Eagles had their most successful season in history and the best season the league has ever seen in 2015 winning the program's first Southeast Region Championship going 29-8 before falling in four sets to No. 11 Wayne State (Neb.) in the National Quarterfinals.

C-N won 29 matches, more than any other team in the league a season ago marking the first time since 2002 that an Eagle group accomplished that feat. The Orange and Blue received 17 votes in the final American Volleyball Coaches' Association poll, the first time in school history to accomplish that feat.

The program saw Natalie Harris (Monroe, N.C.) pick up its first SAC Freshman of the Year and Sara Fairley earn the school's volleyball SAC Scholar Athlete.

In 2016, Franklin is looking to replace the top three kill producers from the 2015 but returns four starters and eight total letter winners including two of the team's all-conference picks in Harris and junior setter Anna Patton (Franklin, Tenn.).

The pick to win the league in 2016 is Wingate after receiving nine first-place votes. Despite winning the regular season crown by two games over Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne, the Bulldogs fizzled out in the postseason.

In the SAC Championships, the Bulldogs fell in four sets to Lenoir-Rhyne in the conference title game before bowing out of the NCAA Tournament in four frames to sixth-seeded Lander. Wingate failed to win an opening round match for the first time since the 2007 campaign.

Wingate placed four players on the preseason all-conference teams, two more than any other school but will need to replace its setter and 2015 SAC Player of the Year Shelly Stumpff.

Lenoir-Rhyne picked up the other three first-place votes finishing eight points shy of Wingate for the top spot in the league. The Bears earned the league's automatic bid by halting the top-seeded Bulldogs' nine-season conference championship run. In the NCAA Tournament, Carson-Newman stymied a 13-match winning streak for L-R with a four-set triumph in the Palmetto State.

The Bears are looking to replace first-team all-league middle blocker Brooke Redmond and second-team all-conference setter Briana Gottberg. Lenoir-Rhyne did not have another player earn a spot on any of the other all-league squads.

Lincoln Memorial slides into the third slot after a fourth-place finish to 2015 but finished with a winning overall record for the 19^th consecutive season. The Railsplitters graduated three seniors including the program's leader in digs, Casey Mense, and Jazzy Oates, owner of a top-10 spot in the school's record books in four stats.

Five of the top six kill producers for coach Jenny Michael are back in the fold led by second-team All-SAC pick in 2015, Kiera Holland. Setter Abby Cash, an honorable mention pick a season ago, was second in the league in total assists with 1,088.

Tusculum checks in at fifth in the preseason poll returning first-team All-SAC libero Melissa Mazur and second-team all-conference outside hitter Rachel Garnett after finishing 10^th a year ago with an 11-17 overall record.

Catawba finished tied with LMU for fourth last season and checks in at sixth just a few points above Queens (N.C.) for seventh place.

Anderson and Newberry hold down the final two single-digit spots while Mars Hill, Brevard and Coker round out the 12 teams in the league.

Carson-Newman has a date with the 2015 National Champions on Friday as Wheeling Jesuit is the first of four matches against nationally-ranked foes in the Hampton Inn-Vitational hosted by West Florida. First serve is slated for 9 a.m.

Rank	School (First-Place Votes)	Points
1	Wingate (9)	119
2	Lenoir-Rhyne (3)	111
3	Lincoln Memorial	94
4	Carson-Newman	81
5	Tusculum	73
6	Catawba	69
7	Queens	65
8	Anderson	56
9	Newberry	46
10	Mars Hill	33
11	Brevard	30
12	Coker	15