Pitt has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2021 ACC Volleyball Championship following a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Pitt advanced to the Regional Semifinals of the 2020 NCAA Championship, knocking off No. 3 Minnesota in the process. The Panthers return all three All-ACC honorees from last season, including two-time ACC Player of the Year Kayla Lund, All-American Chinaza Ndee and second-team All-ACC selection Sabrina Starks. Lund and Ndee were both selected to the Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team.
Louisville finished second in the voting with 182 points, followed by Georgia Tech (168), Notre Dame (159) and Florida State (135). Syracuse earned 127 points and was picked sixth, with North Carolina (113), Miami (106), Duke (96) and NC State (92) rounding out the top 10. The Wolfpack was followed by Clemson (62 points), Boston College (44), Virginia Tech (38), Wake Forest (33) and Virginia (25).
The Cardinals led the league with four preseason All-ACC selections, while Pitt had three. Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Syracuse each placed two players on the team, and Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Miami and NC State each had one.
Four ACC volleyball teams are ranked in preseason AVCA Top 25 Poll, led by No. 9 Pitt. Louisville checked in at No. 13, followed by No. 24 Georgia Tech and No. 25 Notre Dame.
ACC volleyball returns to its traditional league format this season, with each team playing 18 league matches. Play begins on Friday, Aug. 27 with the first conference match scheduled for Sept. 22 between Syracuse and Boston College.
2021 ACC Volleyball Preseason All-ACC Team
- Camryn Hannah, Clemson, So., RS/OH
- Mackenzie Cole, Duke, Sr., DS/L
- Emma Clothier, Florida State, Jr., MB
- Julia Bergmann, Georgia Tech, Jr., OH
- Mariana Brambilla, Georgia Tech, Sr., OH
- Anna DeBeer, Louisville, So., OH
- Tori Dilfer, Louisville, Gr., S
- Aiko Jones, Louisville, Jr., OPP
- Anna Stevenson, Louisville, Gr., MB
- Savannah Vach, Miami, Jr., S
- Melissa Evans, NC State, Gr., OPP
- Charley Niego, Notre Dame, Sr., OH
- Zoe Nunez, Notre Dame, Sr., S
- Serena Gray, Pitt, Sr., MB
- Kayla Lund, Pitt, Gr., OH
- Chinaza Ndee, Pitt, Sr., RS/MB
- Marina Markova, Syracuse, Jr., MB
- Polina Shemanova, Syracuse, Sr., OH
2021 ACC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
- Pitt (195 points, 13 first-place votes)
- Louisville (182 points, two first-place votes)
- Georgia Tech (168 points)
- Notre Dame (159 points)
- Florida State (135 points)
- Syracuse (127 points)
- North Carolina (113 points)
- Miami (106 points)
- Duke (96 points)
- NC State (92 points)
- Clemson (62 points)
- Boston College (44 points)
- Virginia Tech (38 points)
- Wake Forest (33 points)
- Virginia (25 points)
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