EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) received enough votes to be named to the Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team for the second-straight season. University of Southern Indiana Volleyball received 24 votes in the preseason poll, claiming 11th place in the predicted order of finish as voted on by league coaches and communication directors.
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Anderson, who nabbed second-team All-OVC last season, finished the year with 347 kills, 316 digs, and 28 aces, all team highs. She claimed the fourth most points per set (3.77), fifth most kills per set (3.24), and 10th most digs per set (2.95) within the conference. Anderson is on pace to make more history after becoming the fifth Screaming Eagle to earn 1,000 kills and digs in the program’s history. Currently, she is third in career aces (167), seventh in kills (1,231), and 10th in digs (1,106).
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Receiving the most votes in the preseason poll were Southeast Missouri State University and Tennessee Tech University with both squads earning 168 total votes and six first-place votes each. Also earning six first-place votes was the University of Tennessee at Martin who finished with 164 total votes to sit in third.
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Eastern Illinois University took sole possession of fourth after recording 156 total votes and two first-place votes. Morehead State University followed with 134 votes and reigning OVC Champion, Tennessee State University, was predicted to finish sixth with 126 votes and two first-place votes.
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Rounding out the final five are Lindenwood University (80), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (78), University of Arkansas at Little Rock (58), Western Illinois University (40), and USI (24).
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USI will welcome head coach Jeffrey Aucoin as the 13th head coach in USI Volleyball program history. Aucoin takes over the reins of the Eagles after spending 10 years at Harvard University’s women’s volleyball program as an assistant coach. USI also welcomes five newcomers to the roster and will return 11 players from last season, including five starters.
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The Eagles season will begin in Bloomington, Indiana for the Indiana Invitational where USI will battle the University of New Hampshire and Radford University on August 25 before facing Indiana University on August 26. The first matches at Screaming Eagles Arena will be during the USI Invitational where the Eagles will take on a trio of opponents on September 8 and 9.
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For more information, go to our website at USIScreamingEagles.com or find us on social media at USIAthletics.
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2023 OVC Volleyball Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league’s head coaches and communication directors)
T1. Southeast Missouri (6 first-place votes) – 168
T1. Tennessee Tech (6) – 168
3. UT Martin (6) – 164
4. Eastern Illinois (2) – 156
5. Morehead State – 134
6. Tennessee State (2) – 126
7. Lindenwood – 80
8. SIUE – 78
9. Little Rock – 58
10. Western Illinois – 40
11. Southern Indiana – 24
2023 Volleyball Preseason All-OVC Team
(as voted on by the league’s head coaches and communication directors)
Zoey Beasley, Southeast Missouri
Tara Beilsmith, Southeast Missouri
Kaitlyn Flynn, Eastern Illinois
Maddie Isringhausen, Tennessee Tech
Jordan Karlen, Tennessee Tech
Giovana Larregui Lopez, Eastern Illinois
Irene Wogenstahl, Morehead State
Kennedy Davis, Tennessee State
Sydney Wyman, Morehead State
Christina Martinez Mundo, Eastern Illinois
Skylar Boom, Tennessee Tech
Daedrianna Cail, Little Rock
Leah Anderson, Southern Indiana
Sydney Hummert, SIUE
