ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team has been picked to finish sixth in the South Atlantic Conference Coaches' Poll, the league announced today. Individually, Peyton Gash and Carli Pigza earned preseason second team laurels.

Gash, a Lexington, Ky. native, played in all of the Pioneers' 19 sets during her first collegiate season. The right side hitter finished the spring season with a team-high 54 kills on a .281 percentage, 135 attempts, six digs, and seven block assists. Gash piled up a season-best 11 kills twice, three digs in her debut, and a pair of block assists in two matches. She collected All-SAC Honorable Mention and All-Freshman Team honors to cap off her season, along with TU Athletic Director's Honor Roll as a sport management major.

Pigza, a Fort Mill, S.C. resident, played in every possible set during her junior campaign as well. Also a right side hitter, Pigza was second on the team with 41 kills, while adding a team-high 18 total blocks, 17 digs, and a pair of assists. She landed 11 kills twice, recorded six digs, and is credited with five total blocks (two solo, three assists) as her match-highs. The art major has earned back-to-back Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Awards, in addition to SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and TU Athletic Director's Honor Roll recognitions for her performance in the classroom.

The Pioneers received 98 total points in a vote of the conference's 13 head coaches. For the 16th straight season, Wingate has been voted to finish at the top of the league, garnering 155 points and 11-of-13 first place tallies. Anderson claimed the two remaining first place nods to collect 146 total points. Carson-Newman (123),  Queens  (117), and Lenoir-Rhyne (107) round out the top-5. The trio are followed by Tusculum, Mars Hill (91), Newberry (89), and Limestone (72). Lincoln Memorial (61) is 10th, while Catawba (51), Coker (36), and UVA Wise (24) are the bottom three teams in the poll.

Third-year head coach Danielle Marante returns 15 student-athletes from last season's resilient 2-4 (2-3 SAC) squad. The fall 2020 schedule was abbreviated to conference-only competition and postponed to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marante has also added 11 newcomers, including one transfer, to finalize her experienced fall roster.

The Pioneers will open the fall season at the IUP Invitational, hosted by Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The two-day tournament (Sept. 3-4) will feature four matches against unfamiliar Northeastern opponents.

The 2021 South Atlantic Conference Championship will feature the league's top eight teams squaring off on November 16 at the campus sites of the four higher seeds. The tournament semifinals and finals are slated to be held on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 19-20), respectively, at the new Rock Hill Sport and Events Center in South Carolina.

2021 Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll

2021 Women's Volleyball Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Taylor Prall, Lenoir-Rhyne
Shannon Kasprak, Wingate
Sophie Schaff, Wingate
Natasha Bannister, Newberry
Jana Cuk, Mars Hill
Maya Learmonth, Anderson
Regan Duty, Anderson
Ully Martins, Mars Hill (L)

Second Team
Peyton Gash, Tusculum
Reese Blackley, Wingate
Carli Pigza, Tusculum
Madison Roy, Anderson
Zoe Dinkins, Newberry
Erin Edwards, Carson-Newman
Maggie Young, Wingate
Hayden Barton, Carson-Newman (L)