SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Defending Southern Conference champion Furman was picked to win the league in 2016 in preseason voting by the SoCon’s nine head coaches. The coaches also selected an eight-member preseason all-conference team.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or players in the balloting.
Furman collected five first-place votes and 61 points to edge 2015 tournament runner-up and defending SoCon regular-season champion Chattanooga, which picked up 59 points and three first-place votes. Samford was voted third in the poll with 46 points and collected the remaining first-place vote. UNCG tallied 45 points to claim fourth place in this year’s preseason poll. ETSU and Wofford, who finished the 2015 regular-season in fifth and sixth respectively, tied for fifth in the preseason poll as both squads received 34 points. Mercer (21), Western Carolina (16) and The Citadel (eight) rounded out the field of nine.
Under the direction of four-time SoCon Coach of the Year Michelle Young, Furman went 21-9 in 2015, including 11-0 at home and 12-4 in conference play. The Paladins return 11 letterwinners from that squad, including preseason all-conference pick Annie Bierman, who received last year’s SoCon Player of the Year award after leading the league in kills (467) and kills per set (4.32).
Chattanooga went 26-6 overall and 13-3 in conference play to win the regular season and returns nine letterwinners, including preseason all-conference selections Allie Davenport and Kristy Wieser. In 2015, Davenport finished fourth in the conference in digs per set (3.58), while Wieser finished second in hitting percentage (.368). Both seniors claimed spots on the 2015 All-Southern Conference First Team. In 2015, head coach Travis Filar was named the SoCon Coach of the Year, making him just the second UTC coach to receive the honor.
Samford, which went 15-12 overall and 10-6 in the league last season, will play under new head coach Keylor Chan. Chan comes to Samford after 15 years as the head coach of Big Ten member Northwestern University. Chan's teams at Northwestern recorded four NCAA tournament appearances, including the program's first two tournament wins in 2005 and 2010. Returning for the Bulldogs is outside hitter Erin Bognar, who also made the 2016 preseason all-conference list. Last year, Bognar finished third in the league in kills per set (3.63) and was named to the 2015 All-Southern Conference Second Team.
The UNCG Spartans return 11 players from the 2015 squad. Among those returners is 2015 All-Southern Conference First Team selection and 2014 Freshman of the Year Ashley Muench. 2015 Freshman of the Year Allison Penner and 2015 All-Freshman Team selection Jasmine Jones will also be coming back for their sophomore campaigns. Muench and Penner earned spots on the preseason team.
The Bucs of ETSU, who went 19-12 overall and 9-7 in the SoCon in 2015, saw Rylee Milhorn and Briana Allmon claim spots on the 2016 preseason team. Milhorn was a member of the 2015 All-SoCon First Team and finished third in the league in service aces per set (0.35) and sixth in kills per set (3.32). Allmon, who made the All-SoCon second team last year, rounded out last year’s top-five leaders in kills per set (3.41). The Bucs will see 10 returners for their 2016 campaign. Head coach Lindsey Devine is entering her 14th season at ETSU.
The 2016 regular season begins on Friday, Aug. 26, with all nine league teams in action. The 2016 SoCon Volleyball Championship will be hosted by Samford in Birmingham, Ala. The first-round matches will be held on Nov. 19 between seeds 3-9, followed by the semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 20. The finals will be aired on ESPN3 on Monday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m.
2016 Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Furman (5) 61
2. Chattanooga (3) 59
3. Samford (1) 46
4. UNCG 45
T-5. ETSU 34
T-5. Wofford 34
7. Mercer 21
8. Western Carolina 16
9. The Citadel 8
() denotes first-place votes
2016 Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
OH Annie Bierman, Furman
OH Allie Davenport, Chattanooga
OH Ashley Muench, UNCG
MR/RS Kristy Wieser, Chattanooga
S Allison Penner, UNCG
OH Erin Bognar, Samford
OH Rylee Milhorn, ETSU
OH, Briana Allmon, ETSU
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