IRVING, Texas – Three-time defending champion WKU was slated as the 2017 Conference USA volleyball preseason favorite for the third-consecutive year, as voted on by the league’s 13 coaches. Lady Topper senior Alyssa Cavanaugh earned Preseason Player of the Year recognition.

Complete Release (PDF)
 
WKU returns in the wake of an unblemished 14-0 conference mark in 2016, only the fourth team in C-USA history to go undefeated in league play. WKU’s 30-3 feat captured its sixth 30+-win campaign in the last seven years, and tied the fewest losses by a team in program history. WKU is set to face seven 2016 NCAA Tournament teams following a slate that saw the squad ranked as high as No. 19 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and receive votes every week.
 
Cavanaugh, the 2016 C-USA Player of the Year and three-time All-America honoree, was an integral piece of the Lady Topper offense as she led C-USA in points (554) and kills (516), affording WKU the country’s fifth-best mark at 14.59 kills per set.
 
The senior is one of three Lady Toppers to claim preseason team honors. Jessica Lucas, 2016 C-USA Setter of the Year, finished sixth in the nation with 11.64 assists per set. Rachel Anderson competed in every match and registered the NCAA’s 10^th-best hitting percentage (.414), lifting WKU’s clip (.310) to second-best among all NCAA Division I teams.
 
Rice was the predicted runner-up and is represented by preseason picks Madison McDaniel and Portia Okafor. McDaniel’s conference-topping 21 double-doubles and 1,291 assists yielded her C-USA first team and AVCA All-America nods. Okafor captained the league charts in blocks per set (1.28) and conference blocks (73).
 
Southern Miss preseason selection Catherine Repsher was crowned the first C-USA Freshman of the Year in school history with the league’s third-best blocking mark (133). AVCA All-Region pick Sarah Bell’s 11.47 assists per set ranked highest among all Golden Eagles.
 
Two North Texas seniors notched preseason team nods after a pair of stellar 2016 terms. First team All-Conference recipient Amanda Chamberlain recorded career numbers in kills (337) and attack percentage (.361). Holly Milam’s team-best 3.21 assists and second-highest 378 points earned her a first-ever spot on C-USA’s first team.
 
Marshall’s Madison Hill and Jac’cara Walker were both 2016 All-Freshman selections and preseason team picks. Walker inked 19 double-digit kill matches and Hill set a program-record .418 hitting percentage.
 
UTSA’s Marijeta Runjic is a preseason team returner after posting 13 double-figure kill matches. Abbi Reid of Florida Atlantic was a force on both sides of the ball for the Owls in 2016, leading in hitting percentage (.335) and blocks per set (0.84).
 
WKU will host the league’s postseason tournament for the first time in its four-year tenure with C-USA. The top eight programs at the conclusion of the regular season will earn automatic bids for the 2017 C-USA Volleyball Championship set for Nov. 17-19 at Diddle Arena.

2017 C- USA Volleyball Preseason Team
*Alyssa Cavanaugh, WKU, Sr., OH
Jessica Lucas, WKU, Sr., S
Rachel Anderson, WKU, Jr., MH
Sarah Bell, Southern Miss, Jr., S
Catherine Repsher, Southern Miss, So., OH
Amanda Chamberlain, North Texas, Sr., MB
Holly Milam, North Texas, Sr., MB
Madison McDaniel, Rice, Sr., S
Portia Okafor, Rice, Sr., MB
Madison Hill, Marshall, So., MB
Jac’cara Walker, Marshall, So., OH
Marijeta Runjic, UTSA, Sr., OH
Abbi Reid, Florida Atlantic, Jr., RS
 
*Preseason Player of the Year

2017 C-USA Volleyball Preseason Poll
(First-Place Votes)
1. WKU (11)
2. Rice (1)
3. UTSA
4. Southern Miss
5. Marshall
6. North Texas
7. Florida Atlantic
8. UTEP
9. Middle Tennessee
10. FIU (1)
11. UAB
12. Louisiana Tech
13. Charlotte