DENVER – The Utah Valley University volleyball team was picked to finish third in the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday, while three Wolverines earned Preseason All-WAC accolades.
UVU seniors
Madison Dennison,
Sierra Starley and
Lexi Thompson were all named to the 2017 Preseason All-WAC team. UT Rio Grande Valley's Bojana Mitrovic took home WAC Preseason Player of the Year honors.
The defending regular season champion New Mexico State Aggies were selected to win the league, while the 2016 WAC Tournament champion UTRGV Vaqueros were picked to take second. The Aggies received 48 total points and six of the eight first-place votes to earn the top spot. Despite UVU receiving the other two first-place votes and 37 points in all, UTRGV managed to edge out the Wolverines for second place in the poll with 39 points. UMKC was selected fourth with 31 points, while CSU Bakersfield and Seattle U tied for fifth place with 24 points. Grand Canyon and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 14 and seven points, respectively.
"It really doesn't matter where the coaches perceive us to be at, what's most important is where we finish," said head coach
Sam Atoa. "We earned some respect from where we finished last year, but regardless of what people think, we need to go out and reach our goals. We're excited about the challenge and for the girls to get out there and do it again."
Dennison earns Preseason All-WAC honors after being named to the league's first team a year ago after leading the league in blocks with a total of 174 and an average of 1.45 blocks per set. The middle blocker also paced the Wolverines in hitting with a .280 clip and tallied 294 total kills for a 2.45 per set average.
Starley was tabbed Preseason All-WAC following a stellar junior campaign in which she capped by earning WAC All-Tournament Team honors. The setter not only paced the Wolverines in assists but also ranked second in the league with 986 total assists for an average of 8.96 per set. Starley also paced the team in double-doubles with eight on the year and added 108 kills, 91 blocks, 217 digs and 24 service aces.
Thompson was too named Preseason All-WAC after being named second team all-conference last season. The outside hitter paced the team in kills in 2016 with a total of 327 and an average of 3.06 per set. She also recorded 73 blocks and 110 digs.
The three players on the Preseason All-WAC team marks the second most behind NM State's five.
"This is great recognition for our three girls and for their accomplishments," Atoa added. "We'll cross our fingers that we can stay healthy, and if we can then I think we can expect good things from them as well as from the entire team."
Utah Valley tied for second in WAC play a year ago with a 10-4 league record and finished the season as the runner-up at the 2016 WAC Tournament.
Following the annual Green and White Scrimmage on Tuesday, Aug. 22, UVU will officially open its 2017 slate against Pepperdine at the SJSU/USF Invitational in San José, California. After also facing Fresno State and Nevada at the opening-weekend tournament, UVU will head to Cedar City to take on in-state foe Southern Utah on Aug. 29 before welcoming No. 8 Kansas to town on Thursday, Aug. 31 for its 2017 home opener. The season will then culminate with the WAC Tournament on Nov. 16-18 at the UTRGV Fieldhouse in Edinburg, Texas.
2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Team (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
NM State (6) |
48 |
| 2 |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
39 |
| 3 |
Utah Valley (2) |
37 |
| 4 |
Kansas City |
31 |
| T-5. |
CSU Bakersfield |
24 |
|
Seattle U |
24 |
| 7 |
Grand Canyon |
14 |
| 8 |
Chicago State |
7 |
2017 Preseason All-WAC Team
| Player |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Jordan Abalos |
Sr. |
OH |
NM State |
| Briana Ainsworth |
Jr. |
S |
NM State |
| Tatyana Battle |
Jr. |
OH |
NM State |
| Madison Dennison |
Sr. |
MB |
Utah Valley |
| Alicia Harrington |
So. |
OH |
Kansas City |
| Sydney Haynes |
Sr. |
MB |
CSU Bakersfield |
| Ragni Steen Knudsen |
Jr. |
OH |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Katarina Marinkovic |
So. |
OH/RS |
Seattle U |
| Bojana Mitrovic |
Sr. |
RS |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Ariadnne Sierra |
Sr. |
L |
NM State |
| Sierra Starley |
Sr. |
S |
Utah Valley |
| Maja Stojanovic |
Jr. |
MB |
Seattle U |
| Sasha-Lee Thomas |
Sr. |
MB |
NM State |
| Lexi Thompson |
Sr. |
OH |
Utah Valley |
Preseason Player of the Year: Bojana Mitrovic, UT Rio Grande Valley
