Mizzou Volleyball Tabbed No. 17 in AVCA Division I Top 25 Spring Preseason Poll
1/5/2021 4:03:00 PM | Volleyball
Tigers look to carry over momentum from strong fall 2020 season
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Volleyball was tabbed No. 17 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Coaches Top 25 Spring Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday by the organization. The Tigers enjoyed a strong fall 2020 campaign, tallying a 6-2 record and finishing No. 8 in the final AVCA Division I Top 15 Coaches Poll.
Mizzou joined Texas, Kentucky, Baylor, Notre Dame and Florida as the only schools to be ranked top 10 all fall season. The Tigers concluded their fall campaign on a high note, recording four consecutive wins with two-match series sweeps over Arkansas and Ole Miss.
Mizzou featured one of the nation's top offenses this past fall, as its .290 hitting percentage (fifth), 13.50 kills per set (13th) and 1.41 aces per set (19th) all placed top 20 in the country. Two-time AVCA All-American, senior OH Kylie Deberg, remained one of the Southeastern Conference's top offensive threats with 5.50 points per set, 4.59 kills per set and 0.59 aces per set. Those impressive totals ranked fourth, ninth and 10th-best in the nation.
Transfer sophomore OH Anna Dixon made an immediate impact for Mizzou, as her 113 kills (sixth), 118.5 points (ninth), 3.70 points per set (10th) and 3.53 kills per set (10th) all ranked top 10 in the SEC. Redshirt junior S Andrea Fuentes solidified her status as of the NCAA's top setters after ranking 18th nationally in assists per set (10.16) and 23rd in total assists (325).
Deberg, senior MB Tyanna Omazic, Fuentes and freshman DS Emily Brown all garnered weekly awards by the SEC office this past fall. Mizzou's arguably top moment occurred on Oct. 26, as it swept the Week Two SEC Players of the Week awards. It marked only the second time in conference history that a single program claimed all five weekly accolades.
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