Summer is almost over because...

 ...the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Volleyball preseason poll was released yesterday as well as the preseason accolades. Those get released roughly a week before the season starts which means the summer doldrums are almost up. WAC and NCAA women's soccer has already started, but seeing as that is one of many teams UT Arlington does not have, volleyball is the Maverick bellwether for the end of summer.

The same disclaimer I put before every preseason poll is coming: the poll plus a dollar will get you four quarters. While volleyball doesn't have the same turnover that football, both genders of basketball and baseball do, there's still new faces, new coaches and in some cases new teams, though the WAC did not add any University this year. All that change gives a bit of uncertainty to the poll. It does set clear expectations for the season and this poll has the UTA squad right around my expectations.

But first the poll:

R	Team (1st-Place Votes)	Pts
1.	Stephen F. Austin (9)	99
2.	Grand Canyon (1)	87
3.	UTRGV (1)	80
4.	Utah Valley	74
5.	UT Arlington	69
6.	California Baptist	56
7.	Utah Tech	45
8.	Southern Utah	34
9.	Tarleton State	28
10.	Abilene Christian	22
11.	Seattle U	11

SFA received the preseason player and libero of the year in seniors Ielan Bradley and Haley Hoang. UT Rio Grande Valley's Luanna Emiliano, a junior, is the preseason setter, more on that in a moment. Then there's the all-conference team, which is essentially last year's all-conference team. The returning first teamers make it, then any holes are filled by second-teamers, and on down. Seldom, but occasionally, a known impact transfer will make the list.

2023 Preseason All-WAC Team 
Klaire Mitchell, Grand Canyon, Gr., S
Tatum Parrott, Grand Canyon, So., OH 
Ielan Bradley, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., RS
Haley Hoang, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., L
Ariana Pagan, Stephen F. Austin, Gr., OH 
Brianna Ford, UT Arlington, Sr., OH   
Luanna Emiliano, UTRGV, Jr., S
Luisa Silva Dos Santos, UTRGV, Sr., MB  
Tori Ellis, Utah Valley, Sr., OH 

UTA sitting in the fifth spot is about where I expected them to be. Ford is the real deal and she will make noise in her senior year. She was second in kills per set and third overall last year. Only SFA's Bradley had more total kills, while Ford had more per set. 

Sophie Skinner played the bulk of her freshman campaign as the setter and she's back. I expect her to get more attention as the conference year progresses. She was sixth in the WAC in assists last year.

Brianna Brown returns for her senior year at the outside hitter position. Her attack was strong in the action I saw last year. She compliments Ford and makes her better too.

Alli Wells will compete for UTA again as the defensive specialist. She was fifth in the conference last year in digs. Only Hoang from SFA returns to WAC play with more digs than Wells attained.

I'm surprised UTRGV came in third. SFA I can see at first with the returners they have. They won the WAC tourney after finishing second. Grand Canyon returns some players while UTRGV lost some offense. GCU also has a higher budget, so that may be a factor. With the conference's best returning setter, the volleyball equivalent of a football quarterback, is set. The Vaqueros lost offense, but a setter can set up more offense. UTRGV is the reigning champions and its theirs to lose.

Utah Valley was tied with GCU, so they gained the fourth sport this year. In fact four through eleventh reflect last year's standings. I can say with a high probability that the spots below four won't reflect what the preseason poll did. 

The UTA season starts in week on August 25 when they open up in the Air Force Tournament against Bryant. The Mavs and Bulldogs have never played prior. First serve is 5pm.