JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The United Athletic Conference (UAC) has announced the volleyball preseason awards, teams and coaches poll for the 2026 season.
EKU swept the preseason awards with Emilee Hill taking the Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason Setter of the Year awards while Cassidy Trahan was the unanimous winner for the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year award.
Hill, a senior out of Yorktown, Ind. was a 2025 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American and All-Region honoree after being named as the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Player of the Year. The 5-11 setter totaled 10 triple-doubles last season while averaging 5.89 assists, 3.16 digs and 2.62 kills per set. The two-time ASUN Player of the Week posted a .254 attack percentage in 714 total attempts and was the only player in the conference to average more than 5.7 assists, 3.0 digs, 2.0 kills and 0.40 blocks per set.
Trahan, a sophomore out of Pittsburgh, Pa., was named the 2025 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year and was a First Team All-ASUN honoree after averaging 4.19 digs and 1.37 assists per game. The 5-6 defensive specialist led the ASUN in digs per set last season and was ranked in the top 55 in the country in total digs (486).
The Colonels were also the unanimous pick in the coaches poll after finishing the 2025 season with a 22-9 record and a 12-4 spot in ASUN play.
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2026 United Athletic Conference Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll
| 1. |
EKU* |
80 (8) |
| 2. |
Central Arkansas |
70 (1) |
| 3. |
Tarleton State |
66 |
| 4. |
North Alabama |
57 |
| 5. |
Abilene Christian |
52 |
| 6. |
UT Arlington |
44 |
| 7. |
Austin Peay |
39 |
| 8. |
Little Rock |
33 |
| 9. |
West Georgia |
27 |
*denotes a unanimous decision
() - number of first place votes
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2026 United Athletic Conference Preseason Volleyball Awards
Preseason Player of the Year: Emilee Hill, EKU
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Cassidy Trahan, EKU*
Preseason Setter of the Year: Emilee Hill, EKU*
Preseason All-UAC Team
Hannah Gonzalez, Abilene Christian
Emilee Hill, EKU
Cassidy Trahan, EKU*
Addison Burke, EKU
Reese Ricketts, North Alabama
Kinslee McGowan, North Alabama
Alyssa Dinh, Tarleton State
*denotes a unanimous decision
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About the United Athletic Conference
The newly rebranded United Athletic Conference (UAC) is a competitive NCAA Division I conference sponsoring sixteen (16) sports and championships with nine (9) full member institutions including Abilene Christian University (Abilene, Texas), the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (Little Rock, Ark.), Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tenn.), the University of Central Arkansas (Conway, Ark.), Eastern Kentucky University (Richmond, Ky.), the University of North Alabama (Florence, Ala.), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas), the University of Texas at Arlington (Arlington, Texas), and the University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.) with the University of West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.) as an affiliate member in football.