Volleyball Picked to Finish Second in West Division as Douglas, Dinkins Named Preseason All-Conference
Jan 18, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
NEW ORLEANS — The Tulane volleyball team was picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference West Division in the spring 2021 season, while senior Lexie Douglas and junior Kayla Dinkins were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team, the league announced Monday.
After finishing with a 22-11 record in 2019, the Green Wave received two first-place votes and 45 total division points, finishing behind only SMU with 52 points in the West Division. Houston was predicted to finish third (41 points) while Wichita State was fourth (26 points), Tulsa was fifth (21 points) and Memphis was sixth (11 points).
UCF received 10 first-place votes and was predicted to finish first in the East Division (46 points), while Cincinnati was second (37 points), Temple was third (26 points) and ECU and USF were tied for fourth with 16 points.
Tulane was one of four teams to have multiple players earn spots on the Preseason All-Conference team, along with UCF, Cincinnati and SMU. ECU, Houston and Temple each had one student-athlete represented.
Douglas is a returning unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team, earning the honor last year before closing the season with First Team All-AAC honors.
The Plano, Texas native topped Tulane's roster with 384 kills to average 2.93 per set, hitting .185 on the season. Douglas was also third on the team in digs with 384 and second in service aces with 37. The senior led the Green Wave in double-doubles with 13 and also led the squad in points with a total of 455.
Dinkins earns this honor for the first time after being named a First Team All-AAC selection following the 2019 season.
The Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native led the team in blocks with 171, ranking sixth nationally, while her 154 block assists were tied for the most in a single season in program history. Douglas finished second on the roster with 275 kills to average 2.17 per set and totaled 11 matches with a hitting percentage of .400 or better.
Tulane volleyball is set to open its spring 2021Â season on Friday as the team heads to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to take on Southern Miss at 2 p.m. before facing UNO on Saturday at 11 a.m.
2020 American Athletic Conference
Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Preseason Player of the Year
McKenna Melville, Jr., OH, UCF*
Preseason All-Conference Team
McKenna Melville, Jr., OH, UCF*
Anne-Marie Watson, Sr., RS, UCF
Armania Heckenmueller, Jr., S, Cincinnati
Maria Mallon, Jr., OH, Cincinnati*
Adria Oliver, Jr., MB, Cincinnati
Bri Wood, Sr., RS, East Carolina
Rachel Tullos, So., MB, Houston
Lily Heim, Jr., S, SMU*
Hannah Jacobs, Jr., OH, SMU
Rachel Woulfe, Jr., OH, SMU*
Peyton Boyd, Jr., RS, Temple
Kayla Dinkins, Jr., MH, Tulane
Lexie Douglas, Sr., OH, Tulane*
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*denotes unanimous selection
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