NEW YORK – In a close vote among the BIG EAST’s volleyball head coaches, Marquette was chosen as the preseason favorite with 78 points, six first-place votes. Golden Eagle junior outside hitter Allie Barber was chosen as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year.
Creighton was chosen second with 76 points and the remaining first-place votes. Chosen third was Butler with 60 points, followed by Villanova with 57. These top four teams made up 2017 BIG EAST Tournament bracket.
Seton Hall was picked fifth (52 points), with St. John’s and Xavier tied at sixth with 33 points. Georgetown, Providence and DePaul rounded out the poll with 24 points, 23 points and 14 points, respectively. Both Georgetown and DePaul welcome new coaches to the sidelines in 2018.
In addition to coaches’ poll and preseason player of the year, the coaches also selected a non-positional 13-member preseason all-conference team, which was announced on Monday by the conference. The all-conference team consisted of seven unanimous picks. Creighton and Marquette tied for the league-most with three each. Six of the 13 were outside hitters, four were denoted as middle blockers, one right side hitter, a libero and a setter. All 13 received regular season honors in 2017 with eight returning from the first team, four from the second team and the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year, Libero of the Year and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
Preseason Player of the Year Barber returns to the court as the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year and one of the unanimous selections to the preseason All-BIG EAST squad. As a sophomore in 2017, Barber was honorable mention for American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America. Barber finished her sophomore season with 546 kills (4.71 kills/set), 56 blocks (.48/set) and 586 total points. She led the BIG EAST and was ninth in the NCAA with her kills per set average and was 14th in the nation and first in the conference for total points. In league play, Barber averaged .355 in hitting while leading the BIG EAST with 4.94 kills per set (311), and 5.28 points per set.
In addition to Barber, top pick Marquette had two additional players on the preseason all-conference team with Jenna Rosenthal and Hope Werch. Rosenthal, a redshirt senior middle blocker was a unanimous pick as she returns to the Golden Eagles as a 2017 First Team All-BIG EAST honoree. Rosenthal also earned regional honors from the AVCA as she averaged 2.44 kills per set in league play behind a .369 hitting percentage, which ranked third in the league. Rosenthal was second in blocks per set with a 1.08 average during BIG EAST play. Outside hitter Werch, the 2017 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, returns after a stellar rookie season where she averaged 2.18 kills and 2.53 points per set with 2.75 digs per set. Marquette finished runner-up as the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Golden Eagles, which finished 22-10, 15-3 in league play, represented the BIG EAST in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year.
Creighton, the returning BIG EAST tournament and regular season champions, also had three selections on the preseason all-conference team with Taryn Kloth, Jaali Winters and Brittany Witt. Kloth, a senior outside hitter, was the 2017 BIG EAST Tournament MVP. The unanimous preseason selection was an honorable mention selection for AVCA All-Region and a 2017 All-BIG EAST Second Teamer after averaging 3.06 kills, 1.11 digs per set with .299 hitting in league action. Winters, also a unanimous preseason honoree as a senior outside hitter, has been named to the BIG EAST First Team for three consecutive years. She was an AVCA All-East Region honoree as well as a CoSIDA Second Team All-American. Winters averaged 3.62 kills, 2.83 digs per set in league action with .255 hitting as Creighton went 16-2 in the BIG EAST. Witt, back for her junior season, was the 2017 BIG EAST Libero of the Year, as well as an AVCA All-East Region and BIG EAST First Team honoree. She averaged 4.53 digs, 1.17 assists per set in league play. The Bluejays finished last season ranked 16th in the AVCA poll after losing to Michigan State in the NCAA Second Round.
Butler finished third in the league in 2017 with a 13-5 BIG EAST record and a 23-8 overall slate. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third again as Butler returns preseason All-BIG EAST middle blocker Bri Lilly. Lilly, a senior, earned regional honors from the AVCA last season as well as First Team All-BIG EAST honors as she led the BIG EAST in blocks per set (1.14) and hitting percentage (.426). She also 2.86 kills per game.
Villanova went 11-7 in BIG EAST play, 18-12 overall last season. The Wildcats’ fourth-place pick for 2018 included the selection of middle blocker Amanda Pedersen-Henry. Pedersen-Henry was an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick in 2017 with an average of 2.66 kills per set behind .279 hitting.
Seton Hall’s senior outside hitter Abby Thelen as the fifth-place Pirates’ representation on the preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Thelen averaged 3.42 kills per set in league play last season as a First Team All-BIG EAST competitor. The Pirates just missed the postseason last year with a 10-8 league record and a 16-15 overall slate.
Tying for sixth were St. John’s and Xavier. The Musketeers finished sixth last season with a 8-10 record, 13-19 overall; while the Red Storm was seventh at 7-11, 15-18 overall. St. John’s junior setter Erica DiMaulo was a unanimous pick to the preseason All-BIG EAST squad, DiMaulo averaged 10.60 assists per set and totaled 25 aces.
Rounding out the preseason poll was Georgetown, Providence and DePaul, each with a player on the preseason all-league squad.
The Hoyas’ went 2-16 in league play last season, but welcome new head coach Toby Rens to the court for 2018. Senior middle blocker Symone Speech represented the Blue & Gray as a unanimous pick to the All-BIG EAST Preseason team after being named First Team all-conference last season as well as AVCA All-Region. She averaged 3.83 kills per set with a .347 attack percentage.
Providence went 6-12 in 2017. Friar Addison Root, a junior outside hitter, was picked as the top returnee for Providence after she was selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2017, averaging 3.70 kills, 1.72 digs per set.
DePaul will also welcome a new head coach in Marie Zidek. The Blue Demons finished 2-16 in the BIG EAST last season but had the talents of senior right side hitter Brittany Maxwell shine through. Maxwell was a Second team All-BIG EAST honoree in 2017 with 3.61 kills, 4.23 points per set.
The BIG EAST Preseason Volleyball Coaches’ Poll, Player of the Year and all-conference selections are based on ballots cast by the league’s 10 head coaches, who cannot vote for their own team or student-athletes.
2018 Preseason BIG EAST Volleyball Honors
Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year – Allie Barber, Marquette, Jr., OH
Preseason All-BIG EAST
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Bri Lilly, Butler, Sr., MB ^
Taryn Kloth, Creighton, Sr., OH ^
Jaali Winters, Creighton, Sr., OH ^
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Jr., L
Brittany Maxwell, DePaul, Sr., RS
Symone Speech, Georgetown, Sr., MB ^
Allie Barber, Marquette, Jr. OH ^
Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette, R-Sr., MB ^
Hope Werch, Marquette, So., OH
Addison Root, Providence, Jr., OH
Erica DiMaulo, St. John’s, Jr., S ^
Abby Thelen, Seton Hall, Sr., OH
Amanda Pedersen-Henry, Villanova, Sr., MB
2018 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
First-place votes in ( )
| 1. Marquette (6) |
78 pts. |
| 2. Creighton (4) |
76 |
| 3. Butler |
60 |
| 4. Villanova |
57 |
| 5. Seton Hall |
52 |
| T6. St. John’s |
33 |
| T6. Xavier |
33 |
| 8. Georgetown |
24 |
| 9. Providence |
23 |
| 10. DePaul |
14 |
^ - denotes unanimous selection