LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In a vote by the league's head coaches, Colorado College was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the 2016 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball championship.
Colorado College and Trinity University both picked up four first-place votes each but CC received all first or second place votes to win the preseason balloting with 60 total points.
Tigers head coach Rick Swan returns 12 players from his 2015 roster, which finished the season with a 34-4 overall record, a perfect 14-0 regular season conference mark, and an appearance in the first-round of the NCAA championships, including eight players who all saw time as a starter. The postseason appearance was the 18th straight for Colorado College.
After finishing its 2015 campaign with a No. 10 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Final Poll, Colorado College begins its 2016 season ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top-25 Preseason Poll.
Trinity University is the coaches' second choice, finishing with 57 points in the preseason balloting. Playing as the fourth-seed in last year's SCAC tournament, the Tigers fell just short in their bid for a third consecutive conference postseason title, losing 3-1 to host Southwestern in the tournament final. It was the program's fifth straight appearance in the SCAC tournament final.
After a 24-13 campaign a year ago (7-7 SCAC), Trinity received votes in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top-25 Preseason poll. Head Coach Juile Jenkins, entering her 32nd year heading the Trinity program, is the winningest coach among all active NCAA Division III volleyball coaches.
Defending tournament champion Southwestern University totaled 44 points and is the coaches' third choice in the preseason rankings. The Pirates (31-5 overall; 12-2 SCAC) won the SCAC tournament title last season to earn the league's automatic bid and the program's 13th appearance in the NCAA tournament. SU fell to No. 7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the opening round in California.
Southwestern, which is ranked 16th nationally in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top-25 Preseason Poll, will have a different face on the sideline this season as Don Flora steps in to replace long-time head coach Hannah Long. Flora comes to Southwestern after five seasons at Texas Tech University. In 2001, he was named the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine National Coach of the Year after guiding University of La Verne to an NCAA Division III title.
Austin College follows in fourth place with 41 points in the preseason balloting. The 'Roos (26-16 overall; 7-7 SCAC) finished fifth at last year's conference tournament but return all but two players from last year's squad. Head Coach Ed Garza, in his 21st year with Austin College, picked up his 500th win last season.
Texas Lutheran University checks in at No. 5 in the preseason poll with 37 points. The Bulldogs took third place during the regular season and fourth in the SCAC tournament last year, finishing the season with a record of 18-9 overall and 8-6 in SCAC action. The 2016 campaign will mark the 11th season for head coach Tiffany Davis at the helm of the Texas Lutheran volleyball program.
Schreiner University was the coaches' sixth pick with 20 points in the preseason balloting. The Mountaineers finished with a record of 8-23 last year, including 4-10 in conference play. Head coach Howard Wallace's squad, which barely missed a conference tournament bid in 2015, has 10 freshmen on this year's team.
The University of Dallas came in at seventh in the voting with 18 points. In 2015, the Crusaders finished sixth in both the regular season and SCAC tournament with an overall record of 11-23 and 4-10 in conference competition. The UD program embarks on a new era as former Texas Christian University, 13-year head coach Prentice Lewis returns to the college sidelines.
Centenary College rounds out the list, totaling 11 points in the preseason coaches' poll. The Ladies posted an overall record of 5-28 last year. Head coach Caley Carter-Knudsen begins her fourth season at the helm of the Centenary volleyball program.
2016 SCAC Predicted Order of Finish
1. Colorado College - 60 points (4)
2. Trinity University - 57 points (4)
3. Southwestern University - 44 points
4. Austin College - 41 points
5. Texas Lutheran University - 37 points
6. Schreiner University - 20 points
7. University of Dallas - 18 points
8. Centenary College - 11 pts
(Eight points were awarded for a first-place vote, seven points for a second-place, down to one point for an eighth-place vote. First-place votes in parenthesis.)
