NEW ORLEANS – South Alabama volleyball was picked to win the Sun Belt Conference West Division in a preseason coaches' poll announced Tuesday by the league office, and four Jags earned preseason recognition.
USA received eight of 14 first-place votes in the West Division in the predicted order of finish voted on by the league's head coaches. Texas State, picked to finish second by the Jags, received five first-place votes and Louisiana picked up one first-place vote after being predicted to finish fourth in the SBC West.
South Alabama enters the 2022 season as the defending SBC champions after winning the 2021 regular season championship, the first in school history, as well as last year's SBC Tournament title to earn the program's first-ever NCAA postseason appearance and competed in the NCAA Gainesville Regional in Gainesville, Fla.
Jaguar middle blocker
Niki Capizzi was voted as the SBC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and
Rachel Hickey was selected as the SBC Preseason Libero of the Year. Capizzi, and
Maddie Soboleski and
Kailey Keeble were also voted preseason all-SBC.
Capizzi appeared in 30 matches with 29 starts last season, and ranked third in the Sun Belt Conference in total blocks (111), and fourth in blocks per set (1.03). She ranked fifth in the league in blocks per set (1.13) in conference contests, and tied for fifth in total blocks (63). She recorded 223 kills, a .289 hitting percentage, four assists, 23 service aces, 43 digs, 17 solo blocks and 94 block-assists for 111 total blocks in 2021.
Hickey appeared in all 32 matches last season, and ranked third in the SBC in digs (524), and fourth in digs per set (4.52). Her 4.52 digs-per-set average is the best in a single season by a Jaguar in the program's history. She ranked third in the league in service aces (20) in conference contests, fifth in digs per set (4.45), tied for fifth in service aces per set (0.36) and sixth in total digs (249). Hickey also recorded four kills, 90 assists and 31 total service aces. She owns the program career record for digs per set with 4.47 following the 2021 season.
Keeble, the 2021 SBC Championship Most Outstanding Player and first-team all-SBC selection, started all 32 matches at setter last season and led the SBC in assists (1,228), which ranked 16th nationally. She ranked second in the league in assists per set (10.59), which ranks tied for second on the Jaguar single-season record list, and 10th in total digs (354). Keeble ranked second on the team in service aces (32) and service aces per set (0.28), while also recording 73 kills, three solo blocks, 46 block-assists for 49 total blocks and a 0.42 blocks-per-set average. The Maryville, Tenn., native enters the 2022 season ranked second in career assists per set (10.59) at South Alabama. Keeble finished with 19 double-doubles last year, which ranks second on the Jaguar single-season record list.
Soboleski started all 32 matches at outside hitter in 2021, and was a second-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection. She ranked fifth in the league in service aces per set (0.32), and sixth in total points (416.5). She led the team in service aces (37), and ranked second in kills (338) and kills per set (2.91). The Erie, Pa., native also posted 258 digs, which ranked third on the squad, and finished with 16 solo blocks and 51 block-assists for 67 total blocks. She recorded double-digit kill totals in 20 of 32 matches, and finished with seven double-doubles on the season.
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2022 Sun Belt Preseason Volleyball Awards
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Janell Fitzgerald, Texas State
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Niki Capizzi, South Alabama
Preseason Setter of the Year: Emily DeWalt, Texas State
Preseason Libero of the Year: Rachel Hickey, South Alabama
Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference
Emily DeWalt, Texas State
Janell Fitzgerald, Texas State
Julia Brooks, Troy
Kailey Keeble, South Alabama
Kelsey Bennett, Louisiana
Jada Gardner, Texas State
Miette Veldman, James Madison
Sophia Davis, James Madison
Baylor Bumford, Georgia Southern
Coco Gillett, Louisiana
Macey Putt, Arkansas State
Niki Capizzi, South Alabama
Maddie Soboleski, South Alabama
* Ties were not broken
2022 Sun Belt Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
East Division
Coastal Carolina – 90 (7)
James Madison – 90 (6)
Georgia Southern – 67 (1)
Marshall – 49
Old Dominion – 39
Georgia State – 31
App State – 26
West Division
South Alabama – 92 (8)
Texas State – 88 (5)
Troy – 63
Louisiana – 61 (1)
Arkansas State – 39
Southern Miss – 31
ULM – 18
