Junior Silvia Sartori will look to serve up some victories for the Lady Flames this season
In what should come as no surprise to fans of Lee University volleyball over the last two seasons hard-hitting junior Silvia Sartori has landed on the Preseason All-Gulf South Conference team for the second straight year the conference announced on Tuesday.
Sartori finished third in the league in kills-per-set (3.48) before missing the final few games with an injury last season. The outside hitter from Belgrade, Serbia led the Lady Flames with 305 slams while adding 282 digs and 32 blocks.
"I am so proud of Silvia and the player she has become," exclaimed head coach Andrea Hudson. "She has had a great off season after having surgery. We really believe she is an impact player in the GSC and we are glad that the other coaches feel the same way. She is very excited to finally return to the court."
The 2017 Preseason All-GSC Team features nine student-athletes. North Alabama leads all teams with three selections, while the other six honorees come from six different institutions.
For UNA, Lexie Bradley, Ashtyn Kapovich, and Jessica Austin were named to the team. Emma Lenoir, the 2016 GSC Freshman of the Year, represents CBU on the squad. West Alabama's Briana Sandifer and Lee's Sartori, who finished second and third in the conference in kills-per-set were also selected.
Montevallo's Kristy Bohan will be playing her first season in the GSC, but earned this preseason recognition after being named the Peach Belt Conference's Player of the Year in 2016. Monique StCyr has been an all-conference selection the previous three years for the Argos while Shorter's Tiffani Estep rounds out the team and is one of four First Team All-GSC honorees from 2016 who will return to the court in 2017.
North Alabama, the two-time defending GSC Champions, will enter the season as the coaches' preseason favorite. Just five points behind UNA, West Florida was selected second, taking four first place votes. The Argos finished last season with a 26-10 record and a 17-3 record in the conference. Shorter was picked third, followed by 2014 GSC Champions Valdosta State in fourth and Christian Brothers in fifth.
Lee was slotted just two points out of the top five in sixth place and will look to build off of last season's success when they qualified for the GSC Tournament and scored regular season victories over perennial powers West Florida, Shorter and Valdosta State.
Sartori and the Lady Flames will open up the 2017 campaign on the road as they take part in the Lincoln Memorial Tournament Sept. 1-2. Lee will face the host Railsplitters, Carson-Newman University, Mars Hill College and King University.