LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In exclusive balloting by the league’s head coaches, defending SCAC tournament champion Trinity University is the preseason favorite to win the 2020-21 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s volleyball title.
On the heels of its first league tournament title since 2016 and a trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four, the Tiger program looks to repeat at the conference postseason event for the 12th time in program history and the first since the 2013-2014 seasons.
Trinity was the unanimous selection to finish first in the poll after collecting all nine first-place votes and totaling 81 points in the preseason balloting. By virtue of earning the league’s automatic bid a year ago, the Texas Tigers made the program’s 24th appearance in the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament, succumbing to eventual champion Johns Hopkins University in the national semifinal.
Trinity (37-5; 17-1 SCAC) returns three first team All-SCAC performers from last year’s squad that produced the most single season wins for the program since the 2002 team won 38 matches and advanced to the national semifinal. Leading the way is senior outside hitter and defending SCAC Player-of-the-Year Avery Tuggle. A year ago, Tuggle was a second team All-American, earned conference tournament MVP honors, and registered career-highs in kills (469), kills per set (3.11), hitting percentage (.238), assists (35), assists per set (0.23), service aces (46), service aces per set (0.30), digs (498), digs per set (3.30), blocks (57) and blocks per set (0.44). Junior middle blocker Emily Ellis and senior outside hitter Annie Rose Leggett round out the returning first team All-SCAC performers in the lineup. Ellis, who joined Tuggle as a second team All-America, led the Tigers with 152 blocks last year, while Leggett paced Trinity with 59 service aces and finished second behind Tuggle with 386 kills.
The reigning SCAC Coach-of-the-Year, Julie Jenkins will embark on her 36th season as the head coach of the Trinity volleyball team. Last season marked the 14th time Jenkins has been elected by her peers as SCAC Coach-of-the-Year and she is just 28 victories shy of 1,000 career wins, possessing an outstanding 972-398 (.703) overall mark.
Colorado College (32-5; 17-1 SCAC), who finished the regular season as co-SCAC champions and has won two of the last three SCAC tournaments, finished second in the poll with 71 total points. The CC Tigers earned the program’s 22nd consecutive NCAA postseason appearances last season before falling to Emory (Ga.) in the regional final. Among the returnees for head coach Rick Swan, who announced his retirement of a remarkable career at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year, is junior middle hitter Georgia Mullins. As a sophomore Mullins was named first team All-SCAC and honorable mention All-American after posting 310 kills on a .338 hitting percentage and 110 blocks.
Southwestern University (21-13; 12-6 SCAC) received 60 points in the preseason balloting and was the coaches’ third selection. The Pirates, who are looking to claim the SCAC tournament title for the first time since 2015, will be led by a pair of returning All-SCAC honorees from a year ago with junior right-side hitter and setter Lauren Crabtree leading the way. Crabtree was named first team All-SCAC as a sophomore and finished second in the league in service aces per set (0.44) and third in service aces (55).
Austin College (16-21; 9-9 SCAC) received 52 points and is predicted to finish in fourth place. The ‘Roos will be led by returning second team All-SCAC left-side hitter junior Mari Prazak. University of St. Thomas (9-20; 5-13 SCAC), which competed in its inaugural SCAC season a year ago, finished with 38 points to round out the top five. The Celts return the league’s Backrow Player-of-the-Year in senior Kaylyn Latin.
Texas Lutheran University (20-16; 9-9 SCAC) received 37 points to place sixth in the preseason balloting. The Bulldogs’ 20 wins last year ties the 2014 team’s total for the most since TLU joined the SCAC in 2013. The University of Dallas (17-18; 9-9 SCAC), which returns a pair of second team All-SCAC performers in junior outside hitter Abigail Porras and junior middle hitter Dayjah White, is slotted seventh with 33 points.
Rounding out the coaches’ preseason poll, Centenary College (11-24; 7-11 SCAC) was picked eighth with 17 points and Schreiner University (10-23; 4-14 SCAC) was ninth with 16 points.
The 2020-21 SCAC volleyball season is set to tip off with a round robin double-header scheduling format on Friday, February 12th. Each team will play eight home matches and eight road matches, and upon the conclusion of the regular season, the top eight teams will compete in single-elimination tournament hosted by Trinity University set to begin on the weekend of April 16th.
2020-21 SCAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
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| 1. | Trinity University (9) | 81 |
| 2. | Colorado College | 71 |
| 3. | Southwestern University | 60 |
| 4. | Austin College | 52 |
| 5. | University of St. Thomas | 38 |
| 6. | Texas Lutheran University | 37 |
| 7. | University of Dallas | 33 |
| 8. | Centenary College | 17 |
| 9. | Schreiner University | 16 |
