Complete Release in PDF
DENVER - The Western Athletic Conference volleyball coaches have selected NM State to win the WAC regular-season crown in 2017. The coaches also voted on the preseason award winners and UT Rio Grande Valley senior right side hitter Bojana Mitrovic was the pick for WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
NM State received six of the first-place votes and 48 total points to earn the top spot in the poll. Reigning WAC Tournament champion UT Rio Grande Valley finished in second place with 39 points, edging out Utah Valley, which earned the other two first-place votes and 37 total points. Kansas City was fourth with 31 points, while CSU Bakersfield and Seattle U tied for fifth place with 24 points. Grand Canyon and Chicago State rounded out the poll with 14 and seven points, respectively.
NM State placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with five, while Utah Valley had three and UTRGV and Seattle U had two apiece. Joining Mitrovic on the preseason team are NM State's Jordan Abalos, Briana
Ainsworth, Tatyana Battle, Ariadnne Sierra and Sasha-Lee Thomas, Utah Valley's Madison Dennison, Sierra Starley and Lexi Thompson, Kansas City's Alicia Harrington, CSU Bakersfield's Sydney Haynes, Seattle U's Katarina Marinkovic and Maja Stojanovic and UT Rio Grande Valley's Ragni Steen Knudsen.
The 2017 season begins next Friday, Aug. 25, with all eight teams in tournament action. The WAC Tournament will be held Nov. 16-18, at the UTRGV Fieldhouse, and will include the top six teams in the regular-season standings.
2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Team (first-place votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
NM State (6) |
48 |
| 2 |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
39 |
| 3 |
Utah Valley (2) |
37 |
| 4 |
Kansas City |
31 |
| T-5. |
CSU Bakersfield |
24 |
|
Seattle U |
24 |
| 7 |
Grand Canyon |
14 |
| 8 |
Chicago State |
7 |
2017 Preseason All-WAC Team
| Player |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Jordan Abalos |
Sr. |
OH |
NM State |
| Briana Ainsworth |
Jr. |
S |
NM State |
| Tatyana Battle |
Jr. |
OH |
NM State |
| Madison Dennison |
Sr. |
MB |
Utah Valley |
| Alicia Harrington |
So. |
OH |
Kansas City |
| Sydney Haynes |
Sr. |
MB |
CSU Bakersfield |
| Ragni Steen Knudsen |
Jr. |
OH |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Katarina Marinkovic |
So. |
OH/RS |
Seattle U |
| Bojana Mitrovic |
Sr. |
RS |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Ariadnne Sierra |
Sr. |
L |
NM State |
| Sierra Starley |
Sr. |
S |
Utah Valley |
| Maja Stojanovic |
Jr. |
MB |
Seattle U |
| Sasha-Lee Thomas |
Sr. |
MB |
NM State |
| Lexi Thompson |
Sr. |
OH |
Utah Valley |
Preseason Player of the Year: Bojana Mitrovic, UT Rio Grande Valley