Cuk, Martins named preseason All-SAC first team, Lions picked seventh
Mars Hill middle hitter Jana Cuk and libero Ully Martins were tabbed as preseason All-South Atlantic Conference First Team selections while the Lions were selected seventh in the preseason poll.
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Mars Hill middle hitter Jana Cuk and libero Ully Martins were tabbed as preseason All-South Atlantic Conference First Team selections while the Lions were selected seventh in the preseason poll.
Martins was named a First Team selection as libero at the end of the spring campaign. The senior led the SAC in digs (223) and digs per set (6.19) after placing second last season. Martins recorded four 30+ dig contests including two 34 dig efforts. She added 34 assists and six aces on the year. Nationally, the Lions are ranked 12th in digs per set and she sits 17th, individually. She closes out her career with 1,660 digs.
Cuk was selected to the All-SAC Second Team after making an immediate impact in her debut season with the Lions. She led the SAC in hitting percentage (.349) and placed fifth in the conference with 120 kills. The junior placed eighth in the conference with 3.33 kills per set and added 13 service aces, good for seventh in the league. She knocked down a career-high 26 kills versus Lincoln Memorial on March 19.
For the 16thconsecutive year, Wingate, is selected to win the South Atlantic Conference with 11 first-place votes and 155 points, according to the 2021-22 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Bulldogs went 11-1 overall in the 2021 spring season, including 8-1 in the SAC, winning the spring season title. The Bulldogs went on to win two matches in the AVCA National Championships against Flagler and Hillsdale to end the season.
Anderson, coming in at No.2 in the poll collected 146 total points and two first-place votes. The Trojans finished off the 2021 spring season with a record of 9-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play.
Coming in at No. 3 with 123 total points was the 2019 SAC champions, Carson-Newman. The Eagles went 7-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play. Queens grabs the No. 4 spot with 117 total points and finished the spring season with a 7-5 record overall and 6-4 record in conference play.
Not far behind in the No. 5 spot is Lenoir-Rhyne with 107 points, Tusculum at No. 6 with 98 points and Mars Hill with 91 points at No. 7.
Taking the No. 8 spot with 89 points was the Newberry College Wolves followed by Limestone at No. 9 with 72 points, Lincoln Memorial ranked at No. 10 with 61 points and with 51 points at No. 11 was Catawba.
Rounding out the poll at No. 12, and No. 13 were Coker and UVA Wise with 36 and 24 points respectively.
Accompanying the release of the preseason poll was the announcement of the 2021-22 SAC Volleyball Preseason All-Conference teams. Selected by the league's media relations directors, the preseason all-conference teams feature four players from Wingate, three from Anderson, two players each from Newberry, Mars Hill, Tusculum and Carson-Newman. Lenoir-Rhyne added one player to round out the all-conference teams.
The 2021-22 SAC Women's Volleyball season will commence on September 7th, with the SAC Championship being held mid-November at the Rock Hill Sport & Event Center.
2021 SAC Volleyball Preseason Poll
|
Rank |
School |
Points (First Place Votes) |
|
1. |
Wingate |
155 (11) |
|
2. |
Anderson |
146 (2) |
|
3. |
Carson-Newman |
123 |
|
4. |
Queens |
117 |
|
5. |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
107 |
|
6. |
Tusculum |
98 |
|
7. |
Mars Hill |
91 |
|
8. |
Newberry |
89 |
|
9. |
Limestone |
72 |
|
10. |
Lincoln Memorial |
61 |
|
11. |
Catawba |
51 |
|
12. |
Coker |
36 |
|
13. |
UVA Wise |
24 |
2021 SAC Volleyball PRESEASON All-Conference
First Team
Taylor Prall, Lenoir-Rhyne
Shannon Kasprak, Wingate
Sophie Schaff, Wingate
Natasha Bannister, Newberry
Jana Cuk, Mars Hill
Maya Learmonth, Anderson
Regan Duty, Anderson
Ully Martins, Mars Hill (L)
