TicketsThe American Athletic Conference preseason poll and awards were announced on Thursday with the University of Cincinnati volleyball team receiving prestigious recognition. The team was picked to finish second out of twelve teams while Jordan Thompson was unanimously named the Preseason Player of the Year for the fourth time in a row. Maria Mallon was a selection to the AAC Preseason Team.
The conference coaches gave UC 114 points and four first place votes, second only to UCF, the 2018 AAC Champion. The Knights received 118 total points and eight first place votes. Following the Bearcats, Tulane was voted to finish third with 99 points.
Thompson claims her fourth Preseason Player of the Year honor after being crowned as the unanimous AAC Player of the Year for the second straight season in 2018. She also was an AVCA All-American after leading the nation in points, kill, points per set and kills pet set. Thompson set the AAC career and single season records for points and kills last year while also breaking the conference record for kills in a match. She was also the unanimous selection for AAC Player of the Year in 2016, the first time any player was the unanimous top player in conference history. She enters the 2019 season off a remarkable summer where she was a member of the Volleyball Nations League gold medal-winning U.S. Women's National Team. As a national team member she lead the US to a 2020 Tokyo Olympics berth during the qualification tournament.
Mallon earns her first preseason accolade after starting her UC career with First Team All-AAC accolades as a freshman. Mallon was second on the team in kills in 2018 with 2.37 a set and also finished with 1.81 digs with 46 blocks and 27 assists. She added in 22 aces, third-most on the team.
A total of fourteen student-athletes were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. UCF led the way with three honorees while Cincinnati, Tulane and SMU all had two.
The 2019 season begins when the Bearcats head to Pittsburgh, Pa., to face South Carolina at 10 a.m. and the host Panthers at 7 p.m.
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2019 American Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. UCF (118)
2. Cincinnati (114)
3. Tulane (99)
4. Tulsa (81)
5. SMU (77)
6. USF (66)
7. Wichita State (65)
8. Temple (44)
9. ECU (39)
10. Houston (34)
11. UConn (32)
12. Memphis (23)
Preseason Player of the Year
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Preseason All-Conference Team
McKenna Melville, UCF*
Kristina Fisher, UCF
Anne-Marie Watson, UCF
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Maria Mallon, Cincinnati
Caylee Parker, UConn
Shelby Martin, ECU
Hannah Flowers, Memphis
Jac'cara Walker, USF
Hannah Jacobs, SMU
Montana Watts, SMU
Lexie Douglas, Tulane
Erika Hansel, Tulane*
Taylor Horsfall, Tulsa
*denotes unanimous selection
The conference coaches gave UC 114 points and four first place votes, second only to UCF, the 2018 AAC Champion. The Knights received 118 total points and eight first place votes. Following the Bearcats, Tulane was voted to finish third with 99 points.
Thompson claims her fourth Preseason Player of the Year honor after being crowned as the unanimous AAC Player of the Year for the second straight season in 2018. She also was an AVCA All-American after leading the nation in points, kill, points per set and kills pet set. Thompson set the AAC career and single season records for points and kills last year while also breaking the conference record for kills in a match. She was also the unanimous selection for AAC Player of the Year in 2016, the first time any player was the unanimous top player in conference history. She enters the 2019 season off a remarkable summer where she was a member of the Volleyball Nations League gold medal-winning U.S. Women's National Team. As a national team member she lead the US to a 2020 Tokyo Olympics berth during the qualification tournament.
Mallon earns her first preseason accolade after starting her UC career with First Team All-AAC accolades as a freshman. Mallon was second on the team in kills in 2018 with 2.37 a set and also finished with 1.81 digs with 46 blocks and 27 assists. She added in 22 aces, third-most on the team.
A total of fourteen student-athletes were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. UCF led the way with three honorees while Cincinnati, Tulane and SMU all had two.
The 2019 season begins when the Bearcats head to Pittsburgh, Pa., to face South Carolina at 10 a.m. and the host Panthers at 7 p.m.
// FOLLOW THE BEARCATS
Follow the Bearcats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can follow Head Coach Molly Alvey on Twitter.
2019 American Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. UCF (118)
2. Cincinnati (114)
3. Tulane (99)
4. Tulsa (81)
5. SMU (77)
6. USF (66)
7. Wichita State (65)
8. Temple (44)
9. ECU (39)
10. Houston (34)
11. UConn (32)
12. Memphis (23)
Preseason Player of the Year
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Preseason All-Conference Team
McKenna Melville, UCF*
Kristina Fisher, UCF
Anne-Marie Watson, UCF
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati*
Maria Mallon, Cincinnati
Caylee Parker, UConn
Shelby Martin, ECU
Hannah Flowers, Memphis
Jac'cara Walker, USF
Hannah Jacobs, SMU
Montana Watts, SMU
Lexie Douglas, Tulane
Erika Hansel, Tulane*
Taylor Horsfall, Tulsa
*denotes unanimous selection