EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball was predicted to finish eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference this season. The OVC released the preseason predicted order of finish Wednesday morning along with the 2022 Preseason All-OVC Team, where junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) landed herself on the team.
USI, who competes in NCAA Division I and OVC for the first time this season, will face a 29-game regular season with 18 conference matches. The Eagles first conference match will be a road contest against Tennessee Tech University September 23 and 24.
Topping the preseason poll was Morehead State University who nabbed 153 total points and nine first-place votes. Reigning OVC Tournament Champion Southeast Missouri State University claimed second place with 145 points and seven first-place votes. Also securing votes were University of Tennessee at Martin (125) and Tennessee Tech University (120) each receiving two first-place votes.
Rounding out the final six are the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (95), Eastern Illinois University (66), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (63), USI (48), Lindenwood University (43), and Tennessee State University (42).
Along with the preseason predicted poll, the OVC announced its 2022 Preseason All-OVC Team, where Anderson earned one of the 14 spots on the list. Anderson comes into 2022 ranked seventh all-time at USI with 139 service aces and 18th with 884 kills. She also finished last season with a team-high 301 kills and conference-most 67 service aces, earning her All-GLVC honors for the second straight season.
USI Head Coach Randi Raff returns nine players from last year’s roster, who finished 18-13, 11-7 GLVC in its final year in NCAA Division II. Since the hiring of Raff in 2019, the Eagles have earned 50 wins and a GLVC Tournament Championship during the 2020-21.
The Eagles begin the 2022 campaign against IUPUI in a home exhibition match this Saturday at 11 a.m. USI follows with the regular season home opener versus Murray State University August 26 and 27 at Screaming Eagles Arena. Game times are set for 6 p.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.
2022 OVC Volleyball Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league’s head coaches and communication directors)
1. Morehead State (Nine first-place votes) – 153
2….
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