Above photo by Riley Zayas/True To The Cru
BELTON, Texas- Though ranked two spots behind UT-Dallas in the Preseason American Volleyball Coaches Poll (AVCA), the UMHB volleyball team enters the 2021 season as the favorite to win the ASC title, according to the conference’s Preseason Poll, which was released Friday.
The Cru, ranked No. 15 by the AVCA, garnered 13 first-place votes and a total of 189 points, having captured the ASC championship trophy in the spring with a 16-2 record. Rival UT Dallas was just five points behind, with 184, with six first-place votes. Concordia (TX) rounded out the top three, with 143 points. LeTourneau, in fourth, earned the final first-place vote, and tallied 134 points.
Complete ASC Preseason Poll
- UMHB
- UT-Dallas
- Concordia
- LeTourneau
- McMurry
- East Texas Baptist
- Hardin-Simmons
- Sul Ross State
- Belhaven
- Howard Payne
The poll is conducted by league head coaches and sports information directors. This season, the ASC will not have an East and West Division, as Louisiana College left for the NAIA.
Additionally, Crusader standouts Hannah Frasca and Kayla Janikula were each named to the ASC’s Players to Watch List.
Frasca, the ASC Tournament MVP last spring, was one of just four sophomores to be selected. The hitter from Spring, Texas tallied 287 digs and 164 kills in her first collegiate season last year.
Janikula, a senior middle blocker, had 121 kills and 28 blocks on her way to All-ASC honors during the spring.
