Wildcat volleyball ranked fifth in Southland’s preseason poll

ABILENE – Abilene Christian's first game week of the 2018 season starts with a full Monday of practices and the unveiling of the Southland Conference's preseason poll, which has head coach Angela Mooney's Wildcats ranked fifth of 13 programs.

Stephen F. Austin, which won the 2017 regular-season title, before being ousted in the first round of the conference championship by eighth-seeded ACU, edged the NCAA Tournament qualifiers from Central Arkansas for top honors by six points. The Ladyjacks tallied 14 first-place votes in receiving 276 points, while the Bears garnered 11 first-place nods and 270 points.

Northwestern State (196) secured the remaining first place vote to rank sixth and one point behind the Wildcats (197). In a further display of how competitive the league should again be, only 12 points separated the four teams ranked between third and sixth with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pulling in 208 points followed by Houston Baptist (201), which was eliminated by ACU in the tournament semifinals.

Sam Houston State (182) is expected to place seventh in the league while McNeese rounds out the top-eight with 156 total points. UIW (97), New Orleans (90), Lamar University (69), Nicholls (54) and Southeastern Louisiana (32) are tabbed to place ninth through 13th, respectively.

The preseason poll is voted on by head coaches and SIDs from each Southland volleyball school. Voting for one's own team is not permitted.

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Rank	Team (first-place votes)	Points
1.	Stephen F. Austin (14)	276
2.	Central Arkansas (11)	270
3.	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	208
4.	Houston Baptist	201
5.	Abilene Christian	197
6.	Northwestern State (1)	196
7.	Sam Houston State	182
8.	McNeese	156
9.	UIW	97
10.	New Orleans	90
11.	Lamar	69
12.	Nicholls	54
13.	Southeastern Louisiana	32