SoCon Announces Preseason Coaches' Poll and Preseason All-Conference Team

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Junior outside hitter Allie Sweet of the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) volleyball team was named to The 2026 Southern Conference (SoCon) Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted on by the league's 10 coaches and announced by the conference on Thursday.  
 
UNCG was selected to finish fourth in the 2026 SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll with 50 total points. ETSU was voted to finish first with five first-place votes and 77 points, while Wofford followed closely behind with four first-place votes and 72 points for second place. 
 
Sweet returns after being selected to the All-SoCon First Team last season and securing two SoCon Offensive Player of the Week nods. She led the Spartans with 501 kills in 2025 and averaged 4.43 kills per set. In addition, she finished second on the squad with 329 digs and 34 service aces.
 
UNCG recorded a 17-12 overall record and a 9-7 mark in the SoCon last season. The fifth-seeded Spartans defeated No. 4 Chattanooga in a SoCon Tournament Quarterfinal match, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2017. The season was concluded with a 3-1 battle against No. 1 ETSU in the SoCon Semifinals.

The Spartans will take on UNC Wilmington on Friday, Aug. 21 at 6:00 p.m. in an exhibition match. The team will begin the 2026 regular season with the Gamecock Classic from Aug. 28-29 in Columbia, South Carolina, taking on South Carolina and Northeastern across the two-day event.

2026 Southern Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

ETSU (5)	77
Wofford (4)	72
Furman (1)	69
UNCG	50
Chattanooga	48
Samford	46
Tennessee Tech	29
Western Carolina	28
Mercer	22
The Citadel	9

() denotes first-place votes
 
2026 Southern Conference Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team
Makayla Bays, ETSU, OH
Tennyson Gorman, Furman, MB
Allie Sweet, UNCG, OH
Ally Cordes, Samford, OH
Katie Boney, Western Carolina, S
Bradley Brown, Wofford, MB
Laney Klika, Wofford, LIB
Chloe Smith, Wofford, OH