American Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Poll Released
August 19, 2014 | Volleyball
The American Preseason Poll Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The American Athletic Conference released its 2014 Volleyball Preseason Poll which was voted on by the conference's 11 head coaches Tuesday. East Carolina picked up 12 points as the Pirates were chosen to finish 11th in the poll. SMU was picked as the preseason favorite and USF's Erin Fairs earned preseason Player of the Year honors.
"We are not surprised by the preseason selection," ECU Head Coach Julie Torbett said. "The American Athletic Conference is a strong volleyball conference with aspirations of moving to a power conference in the future. The American coaches are committed to working together with a scheduling philosophy and have a great sense of where the teams stack up in the preseason on paper."
Heading into their inaugural season in The American, the Pirates are coming off of a 13-19 season with a 3-11 Conference USA mark. The 13 victories are the most victories in a single season for ECU volleyball since 2008. Despite ECU's improvements on the court last season, which included three conference wins to mark the most in five years as well as reaching double digit victories for the first time since 2008, the Pirates were selected to finish last in the American Athletic Conference.
"We will work hard," Coach Torbett stated. "We will stay focused. We have Pirate Nation. We have great leadership and we are building something great. That takes time. We are undaunted. We will remain undaunted. We are excited about the challenge."
During the 2013 season, the Pirates put together a five-match winning streak, a feat which East Carolina had not accomplished in five years, and captured their first road tournament title since 2005 after three-straight sweeps at the Elon Phoenix Classic. The Pirates look to continue to rebuild their program as they return eight letterwinners and welcome seven newcomers.
SMU earned nine of the 11 first-place votes from The American's head coaches on its way to being named preseason favorite. The Mustangs went 22-9 in 2013, including a 14-4 mark in The American.
UCF finished second in preseason voting, as the Knights compiled a 21-10 record a year ago. Tulane, which joined The American along with ECU, ranks third in the preseason poll after a 28-4 showing in 2013. Tulsa also made the jump to The American this year and was picked fourth after a 24-7 campaign last season.
USF was picked fifth by the conference's head coaches, while UConn took sixth and Houston finished seventh. Memphis, Temple and Cincinnati were each chosen to finish eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively, while ECU rounded out the poll in 11th.
The Pirates will kick off the 2014 season with the East Carolina Invitational beginning Friday, September 5, against Tennessee Tech at 1 p.m.
