PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Cincinnati, who finished third in the American Athletic Conference last season, was selected as the preseason favorite in the 2016 American Athletic Conference preseason volleyball poll. Cincinnati sophomore Jordan Thompson, who was the 2015 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, was tabbed as The American Preseason Player of the Year.
The Bearcats received seven first-place votes from the conference’s 11 head coaches and totaled 96 points in the balloting. Head Coach Molly Alvey led Cincinnati to a 13-7 record in conference play and a 21-10 overall mark in 2015. The Bearcats return five starters and their libero from a season ago including Thompson and fellow sophomore Carly Nolan, who was a First-Team All-Conference member last season. The Bearcats will also add four new players – three freshmen and a transfer – to the roster.
Temple was voted in second place, receiving two first-place votes and 88 points. The Owls finished last season in second place with a 15-5 conference mark and a 24-8 overall record and return two of the three players named to the 2015 All-Conference team. Defending champions SMU followed in third place, also earning two first-place votes but finishing with 86 points. The Mustangs finished last season with a 27-6 overall record and 17-3 in conference play. SMU returns two players from last year’s All-Conference team but lost Player of the Year and Setter of the Year, Avery Acker.
UCF, who finished last season with a 9-11 conference record, was picked fourth with 73 points. UConn (54 points) and Houston (52 points) followed in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Tulsa brought in 48 points for seventh place, with Tulane taking the eighth spot with 36 points. USF (34 points) and Memphis (29 points) finished in ninth and 10th and East Carolina (11 points) rounded out the preseason poll in 11
th.
Thompson was a First-Team All-Conference performer for the Bearcats in 2015. The sophomore outside hitter led the Bearcats in kills (459) and kills per set (3.92) last season. Those numbers were also good enough for third and fourth in the conference. Thompson tallied double-digit kills in 26 matches with a career-high 27 kills in a five set match against Tulsa on Oct. 25. Thompson also finished the year with two double-doubles.
Fourteen student-athletes were selected to the 2016 Preseason All-Conference Team. UCF’s Jale Hervey, Cincinnati’s Thompson, Houston’s Brookah Palmer, SMU’s Morgan Heise and Janelle Giordano, Temple’s Irem Asci and Kirsten Overton, and Tulsa’s Erica Bohannon were all unanimous selections to the Preseason All-Conference Team. Temple had three players named to the team while both Cincinnati and SMU each had two players voted on to the squad.
The 2016 season will start on Friday, Aug. 26. Conference play begins on Wednesday, Sept. 21.
2016 American Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Honors
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Place |
School |
Points |
1st Place Votes |
| 1. |
Cincinnati |
96 |
7 |
| 2. |
Temple |
88 |
2 |
| 3. |
SMU |
84 |
2 |
| 4. |
UCF |
73 |
|
| 5. |
UConn |
54 |
|
| 6. |
Houston |
52 |
|
| 7. |
Tulsa |
48 |
|
| 8. |
Tulane |
36 |
|
| 9. |
USF |
34 |
|
| 10. |
Memphis |
29 |
|
| 11. |
East Carolina |
11 |
|
Preseason Player of the Year:
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati
Preseason Team:
Kia Bright, UCF
Jale Hervey, UCF*
Carly Nolan, Cincinnati
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Jade Strawberry, UConn
Brookah Palmer, Houston*
Dakota Hampton, USF
Janelle Giordano, SMU*
Morgan Heise, SMU*
Irem Asci, Temple*
Kirsten Overton, Temple*
Izzy Rapacz, Temple
Tea Juric, Tulane
Erica Bohannon, Tulsa*
[*] Denotes unanimous selection