MHU Picked to Finish in 10th in SAC Preseason Volleyball Poll
Junior Mary Kate Griffin and sophomore Rebecca Butler named to preseason All-SAC team
ROCK HILL, S.C.- The Mars Hill volleyball team was picked to finish in 10th place in the South Atlantic Conference in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, the conference announced on Wednesday. Additionally, junior Mary Kate Griffin was named to the preseason All-SAC first team and sophomore Rebecca Butler preseason All-SAC second team honors.
Mars Hill earned 61 points, four points behind Catawba and Queens who finished in a tie for eighth place with 65 points. In 2014, Mars Hill finished in seventh place in the league with a 9-13 conference record and a 10-20 overall mark.
Griffin, named to the 2014 All-SAC second team, led the league with 58 service aces and 21 solo blocks and was third with 1,091 total attacks and fourth with 412.5 points scored. Butler was named to the All-Freshman team after she finished fourth in the conference in with kills with 349 as well as fourth place in kills per set (3.03) and 1,007 total attacks. Butler was the top finishing freshman in kills, kills per set, total attacks, digs and digs per set.
Wingate was voted as the preseason favorite with 131 points and 10 first place votes. Lenoir-Rhyne earned 111 points to finish in second, followed by Tusculum in third place with 100 points. The complete preseason poll and All-SAC teams are listed below.
2015 SAC Volleyball Preseason Poll
School (first-place votes) Total
1. Wingate (10) 131
2. Lenoir-Rhyne 111
3. Tusculum 100
4. Carson-Newman (1) 96
5. Lincoln Memorial 91
6. Anderson 78
7. Newberry 69
8. Catawba (1) 65
Queens 65
10. Mars Hill 61
11. Brevard 32
12. Coker 25
2015 Volleyball Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Shelly Stumpff, Wingate
Abby Saehler, Wingate
Mary Kate Griffin, Mars Hill
Kiera Holland, Lincoln Memorial
Brianna Gottberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Katie Bludau, Wingate
Kori Adams, Wingate
Laryssa Welch, Tusculum
Second Team
Rachel Garnett, Tusculum
Brooke Redmond, Lenoir-Rhyne
Rebecca Butler, Mars Hill
Priscilla Irizarry, Anderson
Elizabeth Bialkowski, Queens
Aleksandra Vrvilo, Brevard
Alex Hopper, Catawba
Taylor Lowe, Carson-Newman
