WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita State volleyball team is picked first in the 2018 American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Shockers received six first-place votes and 113 points in the poll.
Last year, the Shockers went 20-0 in their inaugural season in The American.
The Shockers return nine letterwinners and three starters from a team that went 29-4 overall and 20-0 in American Athletic Conference play in 2017. Last season, the Shockers earned the No. 16 overall seed and hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Senior outside hitter
Tabitha Brown and sophomore libero
Giorgia Civita were named to the preseason all-conference team. Brown earned honorable mention All-America and first team all-conference honors in 2017 and averaged 3.47 kills and 1.81 digs per set, while hitting .268 last season. Civita was named second team all-conference in 2017 and averaged 5.22 digs per set.
WSU opens the season on Fri., Aug. 24 at JMU in Harrisonburg, Va. The Shockers open the home portion of their schedule on Fri., Sept. 21 against Tulane at 7 p.m. inside Charles Koch Arena. Season tickets are available
here.
Fans can meet this year's team at the annual Shocker Volleyball Dinner and Auction on Sat., Aug. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in the Aetna Multi-Purpose Facility at Koch Arena. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Shocker Ticket Office at (316) 978-FANS.
2018 American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
| 1. Wichita State (6) |
113 |
| 2. Cincinnati (5) |
108 |
| 3. Temple (1) |
106 |
| 4. SMU |
94 |
| 5. UCF |
74 |
| 6. Tulsa |
70 |
| 7. ECU |
68 |
| 8. Houston |
44 |
| 9. USF |
41 |
| 10. Tulane |
33 |
| 11. UConn |
29 |
| 12. Memphis |
12 |
Preseason Player of the Year
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Preseason Team
Carly Nolan, Cincinnati*
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Shelby Martin, ECU
Brittany Adams, SMU
Kendall Patterson, SMU
Irem Asci, Temple*
Iva Deak, Temple*
Dana Westfield, Temple
Taylor Horsfall, Tulsa
Emily Thorson, Tulsa*
Tabitha Brown, Wichita State*
Giorgia Civita, Wichita State
(*) Denotes unanimous selection
