Griffin Named Preseason All-SAC
The Mars Hill volleyball team was picked to finish 10th in the South Atlantic Conference in the preseason coaches’ poll, league officials announced Monday. Sophomore Mary Kate Griffin was named to the Preseason All-SAC second team.
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Mars Hill volleyball team was picked to finish 10th in the South Atlantic Conference in the preseason coaches' poll, league officials announced Monday. Sophomore Mary Kate Griffin was named to the Preseason All-SAC second team.
The Lions earned 38 points in the poll, placing them between Catawba (48 points) and Brevard (18 points). Mars Hill is coming off a 16-12 season with a 13-9 record in the league that earned them a seventh place finish.
In 2013, Griffin was named to the SAC All-Freshman team after recording 263 kills and a .182 hitting percentage. Griffin leads all returning Lions in kills, kills per set, and is second among returners in blocks.
Other top returners for Mars Hill include seniors Hannah Wilson and Regan Macomson and sophomore Victoria Kaiser. Wilson is the leading returner in sets with 305. Macomson led all returning players in blocks and is a team captain. Kaiser, also a captain, was Mars Hill's top server last season with 33 service aces and is the leading returner in digs.
Wingate was picked as the preseason favorite, earning 121 points and 11 of 12 first place votes. The Bulldogs have won the last eight SAC titles and posted a perfect 22-0 league record in 2013. Tusculum was the second place selection with 99 votes, followed by Lincoln Memorial (94), Anderson (90), Lenoir-Rhyne (89), Queens (70), Newberry (62) and Carson-Newman (49). Lenoir-Rhyne received one first place vote.
Mars Hill begins the 2014 season on Friday, September 5 against Mount Olive at 10 a.m. as part of the Francis Marion Invitational in Florence, S.C.
2014 Volleyball Preseason Poll
School Total
1. Wingate 121
2. Tusculum 99
3. Lincoln Memorial 94
4. Anderson 90
5. Lenoir-Rhyne 89
6. Queens 70
7. Newberry 62
8. Carson-Newman 49
9. Catawba 48
10. Mars Hill 38
11. Brevard 18
12. Coker 14
2014 Volleyball Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Alison Cooke, Wingate
Haley Rhyne, Lenoir-Rhyne
Lexi Potter, Wingate
Shannon Gillespie, Anderson
Hailey Pittman, Anderson
Susie Murach, Wingate
Rachel Harper, Carson-Newman
Casey Mense, Lincoln Memorial
Second Team
Briana Gottberg, Lenoir-Rhyne
Megan Hasse, Tusculum
Kristen Pickett, Carson-Newman
Alix Hooker, Anderson
Cory McGowan, Wingate
Mary Kate Griffin, Mars Hill
Stephanie Tassone, Wingate
(Tie) Logan Hayward, Newberry
(Tie) Elizabeth Bialkowski, Queens
