ACC Announces Preseason Volleyball Poll
8/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
August 5, 2016
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeVolleyball)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Wake Forest volleyball team was picked to finish 15th in the ACC preseason poll, the league office announced Friday morning. The poll, which is voted on by the league's 15 head coaches, saw the Demon Deacons garner 27 points.
Wake Forest will head into the 2016 season under the direction of first-year head coach Bill Ferguson, who joined the program on June 4 after spending last season as an assistant for the women's volleyball team at Cal State-Los Angeles. Ferguson spent 11 seasons as the head coach of the University of Southern California men's volleyball team, where he compiled a record of 150-102 and led the Trojans to three NCAA volleyball Final Fours and two runner-up finishes (2009, 2012).
The team returns six players from a season ago, including junior Caroline Wolf who broke the Wake Forest single-season record for digs with 551 and ranks seventh all-time with 1,074. Wolf will be joined by fellow junior Kylie Long and senior Hanna Lee, as the duo provide additional experience along the front line. Lee started in all 32 matches last season and appearing in 119 of 121 sets, while Long started in 31 of 32 matches and appeared in all but one set.
A trio of sophomores will be back for their second season as a Demon Deacon, as Hailey Brooke McFadden, Rachel Burau and Katie Moore look to build off of last season. Wake Forest welcomes five freshman (Gabriela Howard, Caitlin Clarke, Caitlyn Della, Jayda Howard, Caroline Rassenfoss) and redshirt junior Bailey Shurbet, who transferred into the program during the offseason.
Wake Forest opens the 2016 season at Radford on Friday, August 26, before returning home to host the first of two tournaments. The Demon Deacons will play host to Davidson, College of Charleston and Loyola on Friday and Saturday, September 2-3.
2016 ACC Volleyball Predicted Order of Finish
1. North Carolina (194)
2. Florida State (182)
3. Miami (159)
4. Louisville (146)
5. Pitt (142)
6. Duke (127)
7. Georgia Tech (117)
8. Virginia (101)
9. Virginia Tech (100)
10. Syracuse (95)
11. Notre Dame (72)
12. NC State (53)
T13. Boston College (30)
Clemson (30)
15. Wake Forest (27)
2016 Preseason All-ACC Team
Leah Perri, Sr., OH, Clemson
Jordan Tucker, Sr., MB, Duke
Sasha Karelov, Sr., L, Duke
Katie Horton, Sr., OH, Florida State
Milica Kubura, Jr., OH, Florida State
Teegan Van Gunst, Sr., OH, Georgia Tech
Janelle Jenkins, R-Sr., OH, Louisville
Molly Sauer, So., L, Louisville
Tess Clark, Jr., MB, Louisville
Haley Templeton, Jr., S, Miami
Olga Strantzali, Jr., OH, Miami
Sam Fry, Jr., MB, Notre Dame
Taylor Leath, R-So., OH, North Carolina
Taylor Treacy, R-Sr., OH/RS, North Carolina
Jenna Potts, R-Sr., MB, Pitt
Leah Levert, Jr., MB, Syracuse
Haley Kole, Jr., OH, Virginia
Lindsey Owens, Sr., OH, Virginia Tech
