FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Eight days away from its season opener in the 10
th-Annual Shark Invitational, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team has been selected by the Sunshine State Conference coaches to finish ninth overall, as announced Thursday afternoon.
The Sharks finished 4-12 in the SSC in 2016, with an overall record of 12-19. With 11 of their losses coming from five-set matches, head coach
Jennifer King has the confidence that this year's team will flip the outcome and bring home more wins when put in that position.
"Our team is older, they're more confident, and I really think that's going to be the biggest difference for us from last season," said King.
The Sharks, who gathered 30 points in the coaches poll, will look towards its key returners, Denvyr-Tyler Palmer and
Megan Burns to anchor both the offense and the defense, while also leaning on newcomers like
Sydney Lemon,
Gabby Bauch and
Amanda Pultorak to add energy to the team. NSU welcomes back nine players, adding seven, including six freshmen.
"Leadership on our team is always something that we focus on year in and year out and this year, the interesting thing is we have six juniors and six freshman," explained King. "We're doing a lot with that, having the older girls guide the new players not just on the court but in college life. Having the older girls be a resource for our newcomers, I think it's going to provide a lot to them."
2016 NCAA National Tournament semifinalist Palm Beach Atlantic has been picked as the preseason favorite in 2017, receiving 100 total votes and 10 first place votes in the poll.
Tampa earned second with 87 total votes and the final first place vote from league coaches. Florida Southern edged Saint Leo for third place in the poll, 79 votes to 77, and Barry rounded out the preseason top five with 56 total votes.
For updates throughout the season, be sure to follow @NSUSharks and @NSU_VBALL on Twitter.
See the complete preseason poll below:
2017 SSC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
-
| Rank |
School (FPV*) |
Total Votes |
| 1 |
Palm Beach Atlantic (10) |
100 |
| 2 |
Tampa (1) |
87 |
| 3 |
Florida Southern |
79 |
| 4 |
Saint Leo |
77 |
| 5 |
Barry |
56 |
| 6 |
Eckerd |
52 |
| 7 |
Lynn |
47 |
| 8 |
Rollins |
42 |
| 9 |
Nova Southeastern |
30 |
| 10 |
Embry-Riddle |
25 |
| 11 |
Florida Tech |
10 |
*First Place Votes
