Murray State has been picked to repeat as the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference volleyball champions in a vote of the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. The Racers picked up 20 first-place votes and 240 points while Belmont earned the remaining four first-place nods and 216 points to be selected to finish second. Eastern Illinois earned 173 points for a third-place predicted finish. Eastern Kentucky was selected to finish fourth with 169 points while Tennessee Tech is picked to finish fifth with 147 points. Rounding out the poll are Jacksonville State (139), Morehead State (128), Austin Peay (126), Southeast Missouri (89), SIUE (88), Tennessee State (38) and UT Martin (31).
Murray State captured its first OVC regular-season title as it posted a 26-6 overall mark while going 14-2 in league action. The Racers also won its fourth OVC Tournament crown defeating Belmont in three sets in the championship match. David Schwepker enters his 18th year at the helm of the Murray State volleyball program and will have all six starters from last year’s championship team returning. The Racers placed four student-athletes on the Preseason All-OVC team in junior outside hitter Scottie Ingram (Solsberry, Ind.), senior setter Sam Bedard (Breese, Ill.), senior outside hitter/defensive specialist Taylor Olden (Lincoln, Ill.) and junior rightside hitter Kristen Besselsen (St. Louis, Mo.). Ingram is the reigning OVC Player of the Year after leading the league with 3.66 kills per game last year. She finished the season with 370 kills and 314 digs. Olden recorded 345 kills and 233 digs in 102 sets in 2014 while Besselsen tallied 315 kills and 272 digs. Bedard led the league with 11.09 assists per set last year while also posting 328 digs.
Belmont went 19-14 overall and 13-3 in the OVC to finish in second place last year. Tony Howell enters his second season as the head coach of the Bruins and will have eight letterwinners returning from 2014. Among the top returnees is sophomore outside hitter Ariana Person, who earned Preseason All-OVC honors. Person was named the 2014 OVC Freshman of the Year after ranking in the league’s top 10 in kills (3.37 kps) and service aces (0.31 saps). The Lenexa, Kan., native led the Bruins with 361 kills and ranked second on the team with 328 digs last year. Senior middle blocker/rightside hitter Jocelyn Youngdahl (Stillwater, Minn.) will also be back on the court for the Bruins this year. She ranked ninth in the league with a team-leading .271 hitting percentage last season. Youngdahl also ranked third on the squad with 256 kills. Sophomore setter Emma Price (Fort Mill, S.C.) is also returning for 2015 after finishing last season third in the OVC with 10.31 assists per set.
Eastern Illinois is coming off a season in which it went 15-16 overall and 8-8 in the OVC to finish in a tie for sixth place. The Panthers will be under the new direction of Samantha Wolinkski who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Mississippi State. EIU will have five starters returning from last year’s team, including three Preseason All-OVC honorees in senior setter Marah Bradbury (Decatur, Ind.), senior rightside hitter/setter Abby Saalfrank (Hoagland, Ind.) and senior outside hitter/middle blocker Chelsea Lee (Menomonee Falls, Wis.). Bradbury finished second in the OVC with a team-leading 10.85 assists per set while also recording 268 digs last year. Saalfrank led the team with 3.35 kills per set to rank seventh in the league. She also tallied 277 digs in 2014. Lee was second on the team with 3.20 kills per set and 406 total kills last year.
The 14-member preseason All-OVC team features nine members that received postseason honors last year. Joining Ingram, Bedard, Olden, Besselsen, Person, Bradbury, Saalfrank and Lee are Austin Peay senior setter Aubrey Marasellis (Owasso, Okla.); Eastern Kentucky senior middle blocker Rachel Vick (Bay Village, Ohio); Morehead State senior middle blocker Hannah Sigala (Liberty Township, Ohio); Southeast Missouri senior middle blocker Taylor Masterson (Chesterfield, Mo.); SIUE senior middle blocker Kristen Torre (Highland, Ill.); Tennessee Tech senior opposite side hitter Cody Dodd (Cookeville, Tenn.).
2015 Preseason All-OVC Volleyball Team
( as Selected by OVC Head Volleyball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
Arianna Person, Belmon
Marah Bradbury, Eastern Illinois
Abby Saalfrank, Eastern Illinois
Scottie Ingram, Murray State
Sam Bedard, Murray State
Taylor Olden, Murray State
Taylor Masterson, Southeast Missouri
Kristen Torre, SIUE
Cody Dodd, Tennessee Tech
Kristen Besselsen, Murray State
Rachel Vick, Eastern Kentucky
Hannah Sigala, Morehead State
Aubrey Marasellis, Austin Peay
Chelsea Lee, Eastern Illinois
2015 OVC Volleyball Predicted Team Order of Finish
(as Selected by OVC Head Volleyball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
1. Murray State (20 first-place votes) - 240
2. Belmont (Four first-place votes) - 216
3. Eastern Illinois - 173
4. Eastern Kentucky - 169
5. Tennessee Tech - 147
6. Jacksonville State - 139
7. Morehead State - 128
8. Austin Peay - 126
9. Southeast Missouri - 89
10. SIUE - 88
11. Tennessee State - 38
12. UT Martin - 31
(*Schools were not allowed to rank their own team. 11 points awarded for a first-place vote, 10 for second, etc.)