The rest of the Western Athletic Conference volleyball coaches believe that Seattle University will be a contender for the 2015 league title, as the Redhawks were picked to finish in third place and three Seattle U players were selected as part of the Preseason All-WAC Team, as the results of the coaches’ vote were released Wednesday morning by the conference office.
Defending WAC regular season champion Missouri-Kansas City received four first-place votes and 45 total points to lead the poll, followed closely by New Mexico State with two first-place votes and 40 total points. Seattle U picked up one first-place vote and 37 total points, finishing ahead of CSU Bakersfield, the 2014 WAC Tournament champions, as the Roadrunners received the final first-place vote and 33 total points.
Utah Valley placed fifth in the poll with 28 total points, followed by Grand Canyon in sixth place with 20 points, seventh place University of Texas Rio Grande Valley with 13 points, and eighth place Chicago State with eight points.
Senior middle blocker Martina Samadan (Split, Croatia), junior outside hitter Matea Mamic (Split, Croatia), and sophomore opposite side hitter Jelena Vujcin (Becej, Serbia) were named to the Preseason All-WAC Volleyball Team, as Seattle U, along with Missouri-Kansas City and New Mexico State, led the league with three honorees. Last season, Samadan received both First Team All-WAC and All-WAC Tournament accolades, with Mamic joining her on the All-WAC Tournament Team and Vujcin, one of just two sophomores on the Preseason All-WAC squad, earned a spot on last year’s WAC All-Newcomer Team.
The top six eligible teams in the league standings at the end of the regular season will head to Kansas City, Mo., for the 2015 WAC Volleyball Tournament, hosted by Missouri-Kansas City Nov. 19-21 at the Swinney Recreation Center on campus. Seattle U has won at least one match in each of the previous two WAC Tournaments, reaching the semifinals in 2013 before advancing to the championship match in 2014.
The Seattle University volleyball team will host the Red and White Scrimmage at Seattle Academy, its home for the 2015 season, this Saturday, Aug. 22, starting at 3 p.m. The Redhawks begin the regular season at the Molten Classic, hosted by the University of California at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., Aug. 28-29.