Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team was picked third in the Southland Conference preseason poll released Tuesday. The league’s preseason poll is presented by Jostens.

Defending conference tournament champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was the top selection with 13 first-place votes (167 total points) and Houston Baptist was second, garnering a pair of first-place votes and 149 points overall.

Southeastern picked up a single first-place vote and 144 overall points, slotting in behind a pair of teams they defeated last season.

“We exited out of the tournament this spring earlier than we have liked and we lost the conference freshman of the year to the transfer portal,” head coach Jeremy White said.

Losses aside, the Lady Lions captured a pair of preseason all-conference selections with junior middle blocker Crispin Adams and senior opposite side hitter Karlee Wilkerson earning the honors.

After being selected to finish seventh in the spring preseason poll, Southland Coach of the Year Jeremy White led his team to an 11-5 overall record and a 9-3 conference record. SLU earned the No. 3 seed at the Southland Tournament, the program’s highest tournament-seeding position since joining the conference.

“I’m okay with it,” White said. “This gives us something to strive for and puts a chip on our shoulder. We want to be respected and not taken for granted. It’s our opportunity to show it. We have team full of players used to winning. There are a lot of state champions and a lot of national champions on this team. I think that’s going to translate into some conference championships.”

UIW (127), McNeese (122), New Orleans (112), Northwestern State (97) and Nicholls (84) fill out the remaining positions on the poll.

The preseason poll is voted on by head coaches and SIDs from each Southland volleyball school. Voting for one’s own team is not permitted.

UP NEXT
The annual Green & Gold match is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the University Center, giving fans their first look at the 2021 SLU volleyball squad. Admission is free.

Fans are asked to observe proper social distancing techniques – maintain a minimum distance of six feet from others, wear a face covering over both their nose and mouth, and wash their hands frequently. Hand sanitizing stations are located throughout Southeastern’s athletic facilities.

Southeastern will travel to Monroe, Louisiana for a 3 p.m. exhibition match Saturday at ULM before opening the 2021 season, Aug. 27, against Gonzaga at the StarkVegas Classic in Starkville, Mississippi.

DIGGIN’ IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin’ It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin’ It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @LionUpVB on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

PRESEASON POLL

School (First-place votes)	Total
1.  Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (13)	167
2.  HBU (2)	149
3.  Southeastern (1)	144
4.  UIW	127
5.  McNeese	122
6.  New Orleans	112
7.  Northwestern State	97
8. Nicholls	84