BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Kentucky volleyball team placed three players on the Preseason All-Southeastern Conference Team in seniors Kaz Brown and Ashley Duesk and sophomore Leah Edmond, the league announced Wednesday.
Brown and Duesk make an appearance on the preseason team for the second straight year, while Edmond lands on the team for the first time in her career. All three players were All-SEC Team selections after leading UK to a 12th-consecutive NCAA appearance in 2016.
As a team, Kentucky comes in just one point shy Florida for the top spot in the preseason SEC poll. Kentucky received six first place votes for 138 points, while the Gators nabbed seven first places votes and 139 points.
The league’s head coaches vote in both polls.
Brown won her second American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region award and All-SEC nod after a phenomenal junior season. The Waterloo, Iowa, native was third in the SEC and 16th in the country in blocks per set at 1.42. Her 151 blocks were the second most from any UK player during the 25-point rally-scoring era, trailing only her own 180 mark set in 2015.
Dusek repeated as the SEC Libero of the Year and once again earned All-America honors following her junior season. She averaged 4.78 digs per set, good for second in the SEC. Dusek became the fifth player under Craig Skinner to total 1,000 or more career digs when she achieved the feat last season.
Edmond finished her impressive freshman campaign with a third-team All-America honor. The Lexington, Kentucky, native was the AVCA All-Region Freshman of the Year and SEC Freshman of the Year. During her freshman campaign, she earned SEC Freshman of the Week eight times and SEC Player of the Week twice.
Kentucky will open the regular season Aug. 25 when it plays host to the Bluegrass Battle. The Wildcats will face Arkansas State and Utah in Memorial Coliseum. UK will also host Western Kentucky at home on Aug. 16 in an exhibition contest.
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
(First-Place Votes in
Parentheses)
|
Place
|
School
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Florida
(7)
|
139
|
|
2.
|
Kentucky
(6)
|
138
|
|
3.
|
Missouri
|
121
|
|
4.
|
Texas
A&M
|
110
|
|
5.
|
Auburn
|
96
|
|
6.
|
Tennessee
|
79
|
|
7.
|
South
Carolina
|
73
|
|
8.
|
Arkansas
|
70
|
|
9.
|
LSU
|
56
|
|
10.
|
Alabama
|
48
|
|
11.
|
Georgia
|
42
|
|
12.
|
Ole
Miss
|
28
|
|
13.
|
Mississippi
State
|
14
|
Volleyball
Preseason All-SEC Team
|
Name,
School
|
Pos.
|
Yr.
|
Ht.
|
Hometown
|
|
Pilar
Victoria, Arkansas
|
OH
|
R-Sr.
|
5-11
|
Caguas,
Puerto Rico
|
|
Rhamat
Alhassan, Florida
|
MB
|
Jr.
|
6-4
|
Glenarden,
Md.
|
|
Carli Snyder,
Florida
|
OH
|
Jr.
|
6-1
|
Macomb, Mich.
|
|
Kaz Brown,
Kentucky
|
MB
|
Sr.
|
6-4
|
Waterloo,
Iowa
|
|
Ashley Dusek,
Kentucky
|
DS
|
Sr.
|
5-7
|
East Bernard,
Texas
|
|
Leah Edmond,
Kentucky
|
OH
|
So.
|
6-2
|
Lexington,
Ky.
|
|
Melanie Crow,
Missouri
|
OH
|
R-Sr.
|
6-1
|
Wildwood, Co.
|
|
Alyssa
Munlyn, Missouri
|
MB
|
Jr.
|
6-2
|
Suwanee, Ga.
|
|
Mikayla Shields, South Carolina
|
RS/OH
|
So.
|
6-0
|
Orlando, Fla.
|
|
Kaitlyn Blake, Texas A&M
|
MB/OPP
|
Jr.
|
6-2
|
Allen, Texas
|
Follow along with the Cats on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
