Richardson, TEXAS – Head Coach Holly Watts and the Mustang Volleyball team were picked to finish 15^th this season in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll as voted on by coaches and representatives across the league.

Defending conference champions and NCAA quarterfinalists Tarleton racked up 39 first place votes (802 total) to take the top spot to begin the season. Tournament champions, A&M- Commerce came in second with 755 points, followed by Angelo State (717), each with two-first place nods, and West Texas A&M (628) rounded out the top four spots.

Incoming members UAFS (586) and Lubbock Christian (550) claimed spots five and six, Texas Woman's (526) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (479) shadowed at seventh and eighth.

With the addition of the Heartland conference, the LSC now boasts 18 teams and will utilize a divisional scheduling model. There will be three divisions, each with six teams. Each team will play one match home and away against each of the other teams within the division, with the top team claiming the divisional championship.

Twelve teams will qualify for the postseason tournament, with the winner designated as the overall LSC Champion and the automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament. The conference tournament opens on campuses Tuesday, Nov. 19. The final eight teams will then travel to the No. 1 seed Nov. 21-23.

The Mustangs return 17 from last year's roster including All-Conference Second Team outside hitter Bria Augustine (Bell Flower, CA/Mayfair High School), and All-Conference Honorable Mention libero Gabi Lau (Kailua, HI/University Laboratory School). Augustine had a standout freshman season, finishing second in the conference with an average of 3.62 kills per set. In her first season as well with the Mustangs, Lau racking up 484 digs for an average of 4.80 digs per set.
 
"After receiving the information about the coaches' preseason poll we see where the other coaches think we rank. Being ranked 15th going into the season should provide some motivation for our program and incentive to work hard everyday," said Coach Watts.
 
Volleyball opens their season at the Cal-State San Marcos Tournament in San Marcos, CA where they will take on Saint Martin's, host CSU- San Marcos, Azusa Pacific, and Bentley over a three day span.