Ladyjacks Picked Fifth In SLC Preseason Polls
8/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 15, 2012
FRISCO, Texas - Senior Madison Hanlan and sophomore Jill Ivy have been named to the preseason all-Southland Conference volleyball first team and the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks were picked fifth in a pair of preseason polls conducted by the league's coaches and sports information directors released Wednesday by league officials.
The Ladyjacks returned to the Southland Conference Tournament a year ago and with six returning lettermen are a likely candidate to improve upon their seventh-place finish, earning 50 points in the coaches poll and 48 in the SID poll.
Central Arkansas, just a year removed from their first SLC title, were picked as the favorite in both polls while league newcomer Oral Roberts, Lamar and Sam Houston State were all picked ahead of the Ladyjacks.
As for Hanlan and Ivy, it is each players' first appearance on a preseason all-league team, and both after strong seasons in 2011. Hanlan was an automatic choice to the preseason first team after earning all-SLC second-team honors last season. She led the team and finished third in the league with 558 total digs (5.03 digs per set) and also dropped in a team-best 28 service aces.
Last season she also became just the fifth Ladyjack ever to accumulate 1,500 digs in her career and enters this season needing just 55 digs to pass Heather Stumbaugh for sole possession of second-place all-time in digs at SFA.
Ivy, meanwhile, did not earn any all-conference nods at the end of her freshman year, but made enough of an impression throughout the league to make her way onto the preseason all-league first team.
She started the final 20 matches of the season and finished second on the team with 2.45 kills per set and third on the team in blocks. Ivy also finished with at least 10 kills in seven of her final nine matches and posted her first 20-kill match of her career late in the season when she scored 20 in a five-set win at McNeese State.
SFA opens the 2012 season on Aug. 24 at the UT Arlington tournament against UT Pan-American. The Ladyjacks will then open up their home slate at Shelton Gym on Aug. 28 when they host ULM.
-SFA-
