BYU tabbed as preseason WCC favorite; five Cougars named to preseason team

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference coaches picked No. 8 BYU women’s volleyball to finish first in league play and named five Cougars to the All-WCC Preseason Team, the league announced Tuesday.

McKenna Miller, Kennedy Eschenberg, Mary Lake, Lyndie Haddock-Eppich and Roni Jones-Perry were each named to the preseason team – comprising half of the 10 selections.

The Cougars are four-time defending WCC champions, finishing the 2017 campaign with a 17-1 league record. Last season, BYU advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament for a conference record sixth-straight season and finished with an overall record of 30-3.

For the second-straight year, the Cougars were a unanimous selection to win the conference title, earning 81 points and the maximum nine first-place votes.

No. 14-ranked San Diego, who shared the league title with BYU last season, collected 73 points and the remaining first-place vote for second place in the poll.

Loyola Marymount was tabbed third with 61 points, followed closely by Pepperdine with 59. Gonzaga rounded out the top half of the predicted leaderboard with 46 votes.

The preseason poll and preseason All-WCC squad were voted on solely by the league’s 10 head coaches.

Fans will get an early look at the 2018 BYU team as the Cougars kick off the season hosting Utah Valley in the UCCU Crosstown Clash in an exhibition match Saturday, Aug. 18, at 1 p.m. MDT. The match will be streamed live on BYUtv.org.

2018 WCC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll

2018 All-WCC Preseason Volleyball Team