NEW ORLEANS – Division favorites Coastal Carolina and Texas State and 12 All-Sun Belt Conference performers from a year ago headline the 2019 women's volleyball preseason poll and honors, as voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.
The preseason poll has defending champion Texas State as the unanimous pick to win the West Division with all 12 first-place votes and 72 points. Coastal Carolina edged out Appalachian State as the East Division favorite with seven first-place votes and 67 points, just ahead of the Mountaineers' five first-place votes and 65 points.
Texas State enters this season coming off a historic 2018 campaign, earning its first NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship victory, first Sun Belt regular-season title and second Sun Belt Tournament title in program history.
The Bobcats swept the preseason individual honors as well with senior outside hitter/setter Cheyenne Huskey tabbed Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, senior defensive specialist Micah Dinwiddie voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and sophomore setter Emily DeWalt selected Preseason Setter of the Year.
Huskey is back for Texas State after earning first-team All-Sun Belt, Sun Belt All-Tournament Team and American Volleyball Coaches Association Southwest All-Region honors a year ago. She led the Bobcats and ranked fourth in the conference in total kills (358), averaging 3.06 per set. Huskey was second on the team in total blocks (73) and logged 28 service aces.
Anchoring the Texas State defense, Dinwiddie returns after leading the Bobcats in digs with 466 (3.79 per set), which ranked fourth in the Sun Belt, last year. She enters her second-straight season as the league's preseason pick for Defensive Player of the Year. As a sophomore in 2017, Dinwiddie earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and All-Sun Belt first-team honors.
DeWalt posted a stellar rookie season for Texas State, named Sun Belt Setter and Freshman of Year to go along with first-team All-Sun Belt recognition. She led the conference with 1,270 total assists (10.24 per set) to help the Bobcats average a league-best 13.39 assists per set. DeWalt earned a Sun Belt-record 11 weekly honors (Setter of the Week six times and Freshman of the Week five times) and became just the fourth player in conference history to receive AVCA Division I National Player of the Week honors.
Texas State led the way with four preseason All-Sun Belt selections, followed by Appalachian State with three.
The 2019 season gets underway Friday, Aug. 30 with all 12 teams in action. The 2019 Sun Belt Women’s Volleyball Championship, hosted by Texas State, is set for Nov. 21-24 at Strahan Arena at the University Events Center in San Marcos, Texas.
2019 SUN BELT CONFERENCE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL & HONORS
Preseason Coaches' Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
East Division
1. Coastal Carolina (7) - 67
2. Appalachian State (5) - 65
3. Troy - 41
4. South Alabama - 30
5. Georgia State - 25
6. Georgia Southern - 24
West Division
1. Texas State (12) - 72
2. UTA - 55
3. Little Rock - 39
4. Arkansas State - 37
5. Louisiana - 35
6. ULM - 12
Preseason All-Sun Belt Team
Emma Longley, Appalachian State (Sr., OH, Raleigh, N.C.)
1
Emma Reilly, Appalachian State (Jr., L/DS, Evergreen Park, Ill.)
2
Kara Spicer, Appalachian State (Jr., MB, Peoria, Ariz.)
2
Carol Barbosa, Little Rock (Sr., MH, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
2
Kyla Manning, Coastal Carolina (Jr., OH, Atlanta, Ga.)
1
Anett Nemeth, Coastal Carolina (So., OH, Pecel, Hungary)
1
Hali Wisnoskie, Louisiana (Jr., OH, Columbus, Texas)
2
Kelley Hartman, South Alabama (Sr., MB, Woodstock, Ga.)
2
Madison Hill, UTA (Sr., MB/OH, Rockwall, Texas)
1
Emily DeWalt, Texas State (So., S, Helotes, Texas)
1*
Micah Dinwiddie, Texas State (Sr., DS, Lewisville, Texas)**
Janell Fitzgerald, Texas State (So., OH, Mansfield, Texas)
1
Cheyenne Huskey, Texas State (Sr., OH/S, Columbus, Texas)
1
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Cheyenne Huskey, Texas State (Sr., OH/S, Columbus, Texas)
1
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Micah Dinwiddie, Texas State (Sr., DS, Lewisville, Texas)**
Preseason Setter of the Year
Emily DeWalt, Texas State (So., S, Helotes, Texas)
1*
12018 First Team All-Sun Belt selection
22018 Second Team All-Sun Belt selection
*2018 Sun Belt Setter and Freshman of the Year
**2018 Sun Belt Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and 2017 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year