Chelsea Davis Named to Preseason All-Big South Volleyball Team

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Senior Chelsea Davis was named to the Preseason All-Big South team and the High Point University volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the Big South Preseason Poll, the league announced Tuesday.

“The Big South will be very competitive this season,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “The league’s compeitiveness is evident in the preseason poll and all-conference team. Anyone has a shot to win so fourth place for us is both a sign of respect and motivation to work hard and finish higher. Chelsea Davis earned a spot on the preseason team with her dedication to the program over the last three years. She is a tremendous role model for her teammates and I am excited to see how she performs in her senior season.”

Defending Big South Champion, Radford, was picked to finish first by the league’s head coaches. The Highlanders received six of the 10 first-place votes. Coastal Carolina was picked second with two first-place votes and Liberty was picked third, also with two first-place votes. High Point finished fourth in the voting, ahead of Winthrop.

Davis was named to the Preseason All-Big South team. Last year Davis was a first-team All-Big South selection after leading the league in kills per set with 4.15. That is the second most in a single season at HPU. Davis also averaged 2.65 digs per set and led the team with 20 solo blocks. She tallied 12 double-doubles and had seven 20-kill matches.

Davis tallied her 1,000th career kill against Charleston Southern on Nov. 15 and is just 74 digs away from 1,000. She had a career-high 29 kills in a five-set win at Coastal Carolina.

Along with Davis, High Point returns starters Kristin Heldt, Annemarie Chin, Katie Vincent and Savannah Angel. Angel was the 2013 Big South Freshman of the Year and Heldt was on the All-Big South second team. HPU also adds five newcomers, junior college transfer Gabi Mirand and freshmen Carly Jimenez, Haley Barnes, Camryn Freiberg and Amy Pilat.

The Panthers begin the 2014 season on Aug. 29 with a tournament at Duke. High Point will face the Blue Devils as well as Furman and North Florida.

Big South Preseason Poll

Rk.  Team (first)         Points
1.   Radford (6)             93
2.   Coastal Carolina (2)    90
3.   Liberty (2)             82
4.   High Point              75
5.   Winthrop                55
6.   Asheville               37
7.   Campbell                36
8.   Gardner-Webb            35
9.   Presbyterian            32
10.  Charleston Southern     15

Preseason All-Big South
Rachel Wiechecki, Radford
Chelsea Davis, High Point
Emma Deininger, Radford
Gabriella Horvath, Coastal Carolina
Caroline Douglas, Liberty
Lian Bernett, Coastal Carolina
Mary Crema, Campbell
Mary Trimpe, Presbyterian