2021 PacWest Volleyball Poll
1.	Azusa Pacific (3)	106
2.	Chaminade (6)	103
2.	Hawai`i Hilo (1)	103
4.	Biola (1)	91
5.	Point Loma	81
6.	Concordia	66
7.	Fresno Pacific	54
8.	Hawai`i Pacific	52
9.	Holy Names	30
10.	Academy of Art	20
10.	Dominican	20
First-place votes in parenthesis

IRVINE, Calif. – Only three points separate the top-3 teams in the PacWest Preseason Coaches Poll with Azusa Pacific leading the group as the favorite to win the conference title for the third time in a row. Chaminade, Hawai`i Hilo and Biola all received first-place votes as well.
 
Fresno Pacific’s Corinne Acosta was voted as the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year, while Libero of the Year was awarded to Courtney Dyer from Point Loma, and Concordia’s Brianna Latigue won Setter of the Year. Acosta and Dyer each won the same award at the conclusion of the spring season, which ended just four months ago.
 
Azusa Pacific won its first conference title in school history in 2018 and then backed it up by defending its title in 2019. The Cougars are going into the 2021 season looking for a threepeat, which hasn’t been accomplished in the PacWest since BYU-Hawaii in 2014. Azusa Pacific reached the NCAA West Regional Championship match in 2019 and now has a 67.5 winning percentage in the PacWest, which is the best among active members.
 
Annaka Jorgenson was named to the Preseason All-PacWest Team for the Cougars. The outside hitter is a two-time All-PacWest honoree, who averaged 2.87 kills per set as a freshman in 2019 to earn the Freshman of the Year award. Azusa Pacific also returns three-time All-PacWest selection Bailey Henington, who was the PacWest Libero of the Year in 2019. The Cougars also return Katarina Radisic and added Ioanna Geogatzi, who is a transfer from Long Beach State.

PRESEASON CAPSULES
 
Chaminade had over half of the conference’s first-place votes after finishing in third place in 2019 and taking second place in the Hawai`i Pod in the spring. Head coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke added a large class of experienced transfers to a program that has won at least 10 conference matches in each of the last five full seasons. Brooklyn Pe’a, Annah Rivera and Lataisia Saulala all return from the Silverswords’ starting lineup along with libero Leka Kiner-Falefa. The Silverswords added both Greta Corti and Anna Della Vecchia as graduate transfers from San Francisco along with outside hitter Marcelle Butler and Alexia Byrnes.
 
Hawai`i Hilo had a dominant spring season and is picked in a tie for second place with Chaminade in the preseason poll with one first-place vote. Brea Beale was named to the Preseason All-PacWest Team as she leads a group of returners that has proven its talent over the last two seasons. The Vulcans took second place in the PacWest in 2019 and earned a spot in the NCAA West Regional after having gone 18-4 in conference. Then last spring, the Vulcans went 14-2, while facing some of the best teams in the West Region.
 
Along with Beale, Hawai`i Hilo brings back its starting setter Kendall Kott, middle blocker Ashton Jessee and outside hitter Alexandria Parisian. That experienced group will be looking to give the Vulcans their fourth PacWest title in program history and first since 2010. The Vulcans three conference titles is the most of any active member of the PacWest and the Vulcans have 154 total PacWest wins, which is the most in conference history.
 
Biola is picked fourth in the preseason poll with one first place vote after winning the PacWest SoCal Pod in the spring season. The Eagles took second place in the PacWest in 2018 and sixth place in 2019. Vanessa Garcia is the PacWest’s reigning Setter of the Year and Sami Hover is a three-time All-PacWest selection at libero, and both are back for the Eagles. They also return Dominique Kirton and Abigail Copeland, who were key parts to their success last season, and have added freshman Kendall Vander Tuig, whose name will sound familiar to PacWest volleyball fans. Her older sisters Ashley and Katelyn played in the PacWest at Azusa Pacific and California Baptist.
 
Point Loma is picked fifth on the preseason poll with Madie Fox and Courtney Dyer on the Preseason All-PacWest Team. Dyer was the conference’s Libero of the Year in the spring and has now also won the preseason version of the award. Dyer led the PacWest in aces per set in 2019 and ranked second in digs per set as a libero. Fox ranked in the PacWest top-10 in hitting percentage, kills, blocks and points per set in 2019. The Sea Lions also bring back 2018 PacWest Freshman of the Year Rachael Schlect, who missed the 2019 season, along with Claire Smith who had a breakout performance in the spring at setter for the Sea Lions.
 
Concordia is picked sixth in the preseason poll with two players named to the Preseason All-PacWest Team. The Eagles won the PacWest title in 2016, and have a 58.2 winning percentage all-time in the PacWest. Brianna Latigue is the Preseason PacWest Setter of the Year after recording 9.18 assists per set in the spring, including 54 assists against Azusa Pacific. Patience O’Neal also earned a spot on the team after registering 15 or more kills in four of the seven matches in the spring.
 
Acosta was named the PacWest Player of the Year for the spring season and is now the Preseason Player of the Year for Fresno Pacific, which is picked seventh by the coaches in the preseason poll after winning the NorCal Pod in the spring. The outside hitter averaged over four kills per set in the spring and boasted a .313 hitting percentage. The rest of the conference has not seen her play since her freshman season in 2019 when she totaled 399 digs and 276 kills in 31 matches.
 
Hawai`i Pacific finished the 2019 season in a tie for fourth place in the PacWest, and is picked eighth in the preseason poll, proving the depth of the conference this year. The Sharks will have a young team with a large class of freshman joining the roster to surround returners like Kirah Boynton-Brown, Nicole Ferris, Cara McClean and Makalyla Warthan.
 
Holy Names, Academy of Art and Dominican round out the preseason poll. Holy Names won four of six conference matches in the spring, which is the most the program has won in a season since the Hawks’ inaugural year in the PacWest.
 
The PacWest will get an early start to the 2021 season with Hawai`i Pacific and Chaminade facing Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks in Honolulu. Each team will play four matches in the tournament. Alaska Anchorage has historically been one of the best teams in the GNAC, which along with the CCAA will be competing with the PacWest for spots in the 2021 NCAA West Regional, which features the top-8 teams from those three conferences.
 
Cal State San Bernardino is the national defending champion after having won the West Region last year. Azusa Pacific and Point Loma will each get a chance to take on the Yotes on September 4. They will also face Cal State LA, which qualified for the NCAA West Regional last year. Chaminade will be in Bellingham, Washington, that weekend for four matches, including a chance to face 2019 GNAC champion Western Washington in the last of those four matches. Hawai`i Hilo will start its season on September 10 with a doubleheader against Saint Martin’s and Cal State East Bay.
 
The conference season will begin on Friday, September 17 with five matches that day, including Hawai`i Pacific hosting Chaminade. The next day, Hawai`i Hilo will start its conference season by visiting Chaminade in a battle between the two teams picked in a tie for second place in the preseason poll.
 

2021 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST VOLLEYBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year	Setter of the Year	Libero of the Year
Corinne Acosta Fresno Pacific	Brianna Latigue Concordia	Courtney Dyer Point Loma

 

2021 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown/Previous School
Corinne Acosta	Fresno Pacific	OH	Jr.	Exeter, Calif./Exeter
Bria Beale	Hawai`i Hilo	OH	Sr.	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./UC Irvine
Madie Fox	Point Loma	MB	Sr.	Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg
Annaka Jorgenson	Azusa Pacific	OH	So.	Eastvale, Calif./Ontario Christian
Patience O’Neal	Concordia	OPP	Sr.	Covington, Wash./Tahoma
Brianna Latigue	Concordia	S	Sr.	San Jose, Calif./Valley Christian
Courtney Dyer	Point Loma	L	Jr.	Gilbert, Ariz./Valley Christian