The Greensboro College volleyball team was selected to finish ninth overall, and sixth in the northern division in the USA South coach’s poll that way released by the conference office on Thursday afternoon.
Each divisional preseason poll only includes votes from coaches within that particular division while voting for the overall preseason poll includes votes from each coach in the Conference. This is the second season that the Conference will split into divisions in the sport of volleyball.
In the South Division, Maryville, the defending division and tournament champions, received four of the five first place votes and 16 points. Piedmont was picked second with 12 points while Covenant College grabbed the final remaining first place vote and 11 points to round out the top-half of the divisional poll.
In the North Division, Meredith, received four of the eight first place votes and 46 points. Last year’s North Division champions, Averett, ranked second in the poll with 45 points and the remaining four first place votes. William Peace University with 38 points and Methodist University with 30 points placed third and fourth, respectively, to round out the top-half of the divisional poll.
The volleyball regular season gets underway on Friday, August 29 as eight of the League’s 13 teams are in action.
For the third consecutive year, the 2014 USA South Tournament will head to Martinsville, Virginia as the Southern Virginia Recreation Facilities Authority will host the event. The contests will be held at Patrick Henry Community College. First round matches will take place on Friday, November 7, following by the semifinals and final which will be played on Saturday, November 8. The top-five seeded teams from the North Division and the top-three seeded teams from the South Division, after the conclusion of regular season competition, will advance to the tournament.
2014 USA South Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll
North Division
Rank Institution (1st Place Votes) Pts. 1. Meredith (4) 46 2. Averett (4) 45 3. William Peace 38 4. Methodist 30 5. N.C. Wesleyan 24 6. Greensboro 21 7. Ferrum 13 8. Mary Baldwin 7
2014 USA South Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll
South Division
Rank Institution (1st Place Votes) Pts. 1. Maryville (4) 16 2. Piedmont 12 3. Covenant (1) 11 4. LaGrange 7 5. Huntingdon 4
2014 USA South Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll
Overall Voting
Rank Institution (1st Place Votes) Pts. 1. Maryville (12) 144 2. Piedmont 120 3. Averett (1) 114 4. Meredith 111 5. Covenant 106 6. William Peace 100 7. Methodist 76 8. N.C. Wesleyan 62 9. Greensboro 55 10. LaGrange 49 11. Ferrum 34 12. Huntingdon 31 13. Mary Baldwin 12