Follow
For a team with unfinished business after last season it is now projected to finish that business of winning a conference title in 2022.
Mount Olive received the maximum number of first-place votes to earn the top spot in the ConfCarolinas preseason coaches poll that the league released on Friday.
The Trojans ended last season winning their first ConfCarolinas regular season championship in a decade and were ranked No. 5 in the Division II national coaches poll. The team, though, lost in the conference tournament finals and was the only school last year to win a conference regular season championship and not earn a berth to the men’s volleyball NCAA Tournament.
Four all-conference starters return for Mount Olive, including outside attacker Tobi Azeez. Azeez was the 2021 ConfCarolinas Offensive Player of the Year and spent the offseason playing for Australia in the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
Mount Olive earned seven of eight first-place votes in the preseason poll. Conference coaches were restricted from voting for their own team on their ballots.
The defending ConfCarolinas champions Belmont Abbey was the only other school besides Mount Olive to receive a first-place vote. The Crusaders finished with 42 points – seven fewer points than Mount Olive.
King and North Greenville also round out the top half of the preseason poll.
The ConfCarolinas season begins in February and concludes with the four-round ConfCarolinas Tournament in April. The winner of the ConfCarolinas Tournament will receive the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
2022 ConfCarolinas Preseason Poll
1. Mount Olive – 49 (7) points
2. Belmont Abbey – 42 (1) points
T-3. King – 32 points
T-3. North Greenville – 32 points
5. Barton – 30 points
6. Emmanuel – 15 points
7. Erskine – 13 points
8. Lees-McRae – 11 points
2022 ConfCarolinas Players to Watch
Belmont Abbey – Andrew Kohut, Matteo Miselli, Dan Cerqua
Barton – Moses Kresch, Zach Reider, Brandon Johnston
Emmanuel – Henrik Westhoff, Nick Eichenberger, Jayden Young
Erskine – Cole Vigo, Edgerrin Austin, Kacper Rybarczyk
King – Joshua Kim, Noah Melendez, JT Deppe
Lees-McRae – Michael Marsans, Bradley Peters, Max Kuntz
Mount Olive – Tobi Azeez, Eric Visgitis, Luke Visgitis
North Greenville – Brandon Baker, Sergio Carrillo, Christian Phung