2021 GSC Volleyball Spring Championship Series Preseason Release
RETURNING PLAYERS WATCHLIST | TOP NEWCOMERS
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - With the cancelation of the traditional fall season for volleyball in 2020, the Gulf South Conference created the Spring Championship Series, which will consist of pool play followed by a bracketed event involving all teams.
These games, in addition to other countable spring contests, will count towards all-time standings and coach records. Also, teams and student-athletes are eligible for single game records and numbers will count towards career records.
In the Spring Championship Series, the league will be split into a group of five and a group of six. The Alabama Huntsville Chargers are projected to win Group A, and the West Georgia Wolves are projected to top Group B.
The Chargers will bring back three of their four leaders in kills from last season, including all-conference selections Abby Brooks and Kendall Scharbert. Brooks led the 2019 team in total attacks and kills per set, while Scharbert ranked seventh in the league in hitting percentage (.298). UAH also returns its top setter in Sabrina Duncan and defensive specialist Shayla Libby.
West Georgia’s 13-3 finish in conference play last season was the best mark in program history. Tierra White had one of the best seasons by a freshman in league history, leading the league in hitting percentage, finishing second in total kills, and ranking sixth in blocks per set. White was named a Third Team All-American by the AVCA and earned honorable mention on the GSC’s All-Decade Team.
Picked second in Group A, Union is coming off of its best season since joining the GSC in 2012. Despite the loss of 2019 GSC Libero of the Year Abbie Rahn, the Lady Bulldogs bring back a host of talent, including all-conference setter Jordan Vick and a pair of all-conference outside hitters in Meghan Delaney and Emily Grace Calhoon. Delaney finished third in the country last season with 520 kills, and she earned an honorable mention spot on the GSC All-Decade Team.
Last year, in their first season of postseason eligibility, the AUM Warhawks advanced to the GSC Championship. This season, Auburn Montgomery has been picked to finish second in Group B. Isadora Nicolai will return at setter; she finished second in the league in assists and third in services aces in 2019. Returners Giada Pais-Marden and Nyah Whittlesey each averaged over 2.5 kills per set last year.
The complete returning players watchlist, as well as a list of top newcomers for each squad, can be found at the top of the page, while the preseason polls can be found below.
2021 VOLLEYBALL SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PRESEASON POLL - GROUP A
| School |
Total Points |
| 1. Alabama Huntsville (3) |
15 |
| 2. Union (2) |
14 |
| 3. Mississippi College |
9 |
| 4. West Alabama |
8 |
| 5. Christian Brothers |
4 |
2021 VOLLEYBALL SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PRESEASON POLL - GROUP B
| School |
Total Points |
| 1. West Georgia (4) |
23 |
| 2. Auburn Montgomery (1) |
18 |
| T3. Montevallo (1) |
17 |
| T3. Valdosta State |
17 |
| 5. Lee |
10 |
| 6. Shorter |
5 |
NOTES: The head coaches voted in the preseason poll for their own groups. Teams in Group A received four points for a first place vote, three for a second place vote, etc. Teams in Group B received five points for a first place vote, four for a second place vote, etc. The head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Number of first place votes in parenthesis.