 "Photo: Joe Buglewicz")
Less than three weeks after Texas football was projected to win the Big 12, it's volleyball's turn to benefit from the preseason polls.
Texas was named second in the Big 12's preseason poll Monday behind defending national champions Nebraska. The Huskers received 10 of the 11 first-place votes in the poll, while Texas earned one.
Nebraska posted a 19-1 conference record last season to win the conference title, their third consecutive Big 12 championship. The Longhorns finished third in the standings, a single game behind Oklahoma.
Youth will be a recurring theme for Texas this season. Only five players on the 15-player roster are listed as seniors, while five are freshmen. But that inexperience will be supplemented with talent. This year's Longhorn recruiting class, led by No. 2 recruit Juliann Faucette from San Diego, Calif., and No. 3 recruit Jennifer Doris from Houston, was named second in the nation by both Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com. Faucette was named Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year in the poll, the second straight season Texas has earned the honor.
The Longhorns had three players named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team in the poll, senior Michelle Moriarty and sophomores Ashley Engle and Destinee Hooker. Engle was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season after putting up a team-high 463 kills. Moriarty led the Big 12 with 13.68 assists per-game while Hooker, who also won a national high-jump title with the track team, earned 15 service aces.
The Longhorns start the season in State College, Penn., against Penn State Aug. 24.
Be the first to comment on this article!