For the second straight year the University of Hawai’i has been selected as the Big West Conference’s top pick in the women’s volleyball preseason poll, as selected by the nine league coaches.
The Rainbow Wahine were a unanimous favorite, collecting all nine first-place votes en route to an 81-point total. Long Beach State secured second place with 72 points and was followed by Cal State Northridge, who captured the third slot with 59 points.
In its first year back in the Big West Conference after a 16-year hiatus, Hawai’i posted a perfect 18-0 league mark in 2012 to capture its sixth conference championship. This marked the first perfect season in conference play since UC Santa Barbara posted an unblemished 18-0 record in 2002. The Rainbow Wahine, who concluded last season with an overall mark of 27-3, return four staters and their libero. Look for All-Big West First Team members senior Emily Hartong and Sophomore Jade Vorster to guide the Rainbow Wahine in 2013. Last year Hartong tallied a conference-best 4.66 kill average while Vorster registered a league-high .388 hitting percentage.
Like Hawai’i, the 49ers return a majority of their talent from the 2012 season as Long Beach State welcomes back four starers, plus their libero. Long Beach State is coming off a season in which it boasted a 13-5 mark in Big West play to finish second. Leading the way for the 49ers in 2013 are juniors Haleigh Hampton and Chisom Okpala and senior Delainey Aigner-Sweesey. Okpala concluded last season third in hitting percentage with a .328 clip and fifth in blocks with a 1.17 average. Hampton, who missed last season due to an injury, earned All-America status in 2011 after pacing the league and ranking third in the nation with a 1.50 block average.
In 2012, Cal State Northridge finished third in the Big West for the second straight season with a 12-6 mark. The Matadors also posted their first 20-plus win season since 1996 with a 21-10 record. Under the guidance of Head Coach Jeff Stork, the Matadors look to continue their success this season as they return their entire starting lineup which includes All-Big West First Team members juniors Casey Hinger and Natalie Allen and senior Sydney Gedryn. Hinger led the conference in blocks last season with a 1.33 average, while Gedryn finished seventh with a .284 hitting percentage.
The Aggies of UC Davis clinched the fourth spot with 43 points while UC Irvine grabbed 40 points to land in fifth place. Under the helm of first-year coach Nicole Lantagne Welch, UC Santa Barbara holds the sixth slot with 36 points with Cal State Fullerton one point back in seventh place. Rounding out the nine-team field are Cal Poly (28) and UC Riverside (11), who sit eighth and ninth.
2013 Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Hawaii (9) - 81
2. Long Beach State - 72
3. Cal State Northridge - 59
4. UC Davis - 43
5. UC Irvine - 40
6. UC Santa Barbara - 36
7. Cal State Fullerton - 35
8. Cal Poly - 28
9. UC Riverside - 11
( ) Denotes first place votes