IRVING, Texas – UCF, the 2019 conference tournament champion, held position as the favorite in the 2020 American Athletic Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll that was released on Monday. The preseason rankings were voted on by the conference’s 11 head coaches.
The Knights earned all 10 possible votes as the favorite to win the 2020 American Volleyball Championship and were picked as the top team in the East Division with all 46 possible points. UCF junior outside hitter McKenna Melville was tabbed as the unanimous preseason American Volleyball Player of the Year.
Cincinnati received the other overall first-place vote and placed second in the East Division with 37 voting points (one first-place vote). The Bearcats, the top seed in the 2019 conference tournament, became the first American volleyball team to ever reach the national round of 16 during the 2019 NCAA Championship.
Temple ranked third in the East Division with a total of 26 points. East Carolina and USF both shared the fourth spot in the division after receiving 16 points each.
SMU, who finished as an American tournament semifinalist and was the top regular-season team from the West Division in 2019, secured seven first-place votes and 52 voting points in the 2020 preseason poll as the predicted winner of the West. Tulane added two first-place votes and 45 points to place second in the West Division, with Houston (two first-place votes) narrowly behind in third with 41 points. Wichita State (26 points, fourth), Tulsa (21 points, fifth) and Memphis (11 points, sixth) rounded out West Division voting.
The second edition of the American Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship will be held on April 2-3 at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The top two teams from each division will meet in this season’s American tournament, which Cincinnati earned the right to host thanks to the top conference regular-season record in 2019.
UCF won its third overall American volleyball title in last season’s inaugural championship match, rebounding from a six-point deficit at set point in the third set of the championship match with No. 1 seed Cincinnati to ultimately win in five sets. Melville was named Tournament Most Outstanding Player following the title-clinching victory, while teammate and now senior right side Anne-Marie Watson joined her on the tournament’s all-championship team. Both players are among 13 American players who were tabbed as 2020 preseason all-conference team members.
Cincinnati and SMU led all league teams with three preseason all-conference selections; junior setter Armania Heckenmueller, junior outside hitter Maria Mallon and junior middle blocker Adria Oliver represented Cincinnati, while junior setter Lily Heim, junior outside hitter Hannah Jacobs and junior outside hitter Rachel Woulfe were back tabbed from SMU. Junior middle hitter Kayla Dinkins and senior outside hitter Lexie Douglas were two representatives from Tulane on the preseason all-conference squad, with East Carolina senior right side Bri Wood, Houston sophomore middle blocker Rachel Tullos and Temple junior right side Peyton Boyd rounding out the team.
2020 American Athletic Conference
Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
American Championship
(Teams cannot vote for themselves)
| Team |
First-Place Votes |
| UCF |
10 |
| Cincinnati |
1 |
East Division Volleyball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
(Out of a possible 46 points)
| Team |
First-Place Votes |
Div. Points |
| 1. UCF |
10 |
46 |
| 2. Cincinnati |
1 |
37 |
| 3. Temple |
|
26 |
| 4. East Carolina |
|
16 |
| 4. USF |
|
16 |
West Division Volleyball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
(Out of a possible 55 points)
| Team |
First-Place Votes |
Div. Points |
| 1. SMU |
7 |
52 |
| 2. Tulane |
2 |
45 |
| 3. Houston |
2 |
41 |
| 4. Wichita State |
|
26 |
| 5. Tulsa |
|
21 |
| 6. Memphis |
|
11 |
Preseason Player of the Year
McKenna Melville, Jr., OH, UCF*
Preseason All-Conference Team
McKenna Melville, Jr., OH, UCF*
Anne-Marie Watson, Sr., RS, UCF
Armania Heckenmueller, Jr., S, Cincinnati
Maria Mallon, Jr., OH, Cincinnati*
Adria Oliver, Jr., MB, Cincinnati
Bri Wood, Sr., RS, East Carolina
Rachel Tullos, So., MB, Houston
Lily Heim, Jr., S, SMU*
Hannah Jacobs, Jr., OH, SMU
Rachel Woulfe, Jr., OH, SMU*
Peyton Boyd, Jr., RS, Temple
Kayla Dinkins, Jr., MH, Tulane
Lexie Douglas, Sr., OH, Tulane*
*denotes unanimous selection