FRISCO, Texas – The defending regular season Southland Conference champion HCU volleyball team was picked to finish first in the league's preseason poll while five Huskies earned preseason all-conference recognition, the conference office announced on Friday afternoon.
HCU's
Sara Arroyo and
Anna Gadway were each first team selections while
Kaley Feris,
Grace McLaughlin and
Audrey Pearce were named to the second team.
Gadway was a first team all-conference honoree the last two seasons and ranks 14
th in program history with 860 career kills. The senior recorded 19 double-digit kill performances last season and ranked sixth in the conference with 3.09 kills per set and seventh with a .287 hitting percentage.
Arroyo, meanwhile, was a second team selection last year after ranking ninth in the league with 3.02 kills per set. The junior outside hitter hit .249 as a sophomore and posted double-figure kills in 23 of the 31 matches she played in.
McLaughlin, a sophomore setter, was the league's Newcomer of the Year and a second team all-conference selection last season. As a redshirt freshman, McLaughlin ranked second in the conference with 9.88 assists per set and also averaged 2.83 digs per set. In SLC play, she averaged 10.36 assists per set.
Pearce, a junior middle blocker, is a two-time second team all-SLC selection and last season ranked third in the conference with 1.11 blocks per set with a total of 126 blocks during the year. Additionally, she ranked 10
th in the league with a .272 hitting percentage and added 2.20 kills per set.
Feris, a senior libero, is second in program history with 4.29 digs per set over three seasons, totaling 1,145 total digs. Last season, her 4.09 digs per set ranked sixth in the conference while improving that number to 4.26 vs. SLC opponents.
The Huskies received eight first place votes to earn the top spot in the league's preseason poll with 120 total points, narrowly edging out Southeastern with 118 points and eight first place votes. HCU topped the league standings last season with a 14-4 conference record.
HCU opens the 2023 season on Aug. 25 at the Under Armour Challenge, hosted by Texas Tech, in Lubbock with a matchup vs. Texas Tech at 11:00 a.m. before taking on Wichita State and Abilene Christian on Aug. 26.
