NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State volleyball team was selected to finish sixth in the Northern Division as the MEAC announced the 2019 preseason volleyball honors last Friday.
The Spartans were picked to finish sixth out of six teams in the North, as they garnered 37 points and one first-place vote. Delaware State, with 42 points, was the next team above NSU in the standings.
In NSU's division, defending league champ Howard received 15 first-place votes and 125 points. Maryland Eastern Shore was second with 93 points and four first-place votes. Morgan State (88 points) and Coppin State (77) also finished ahead of Delaware State and NSU in the voting.
In the South, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman tied for first in the division with 88 points despite FAMU garnering twice as many first-place votes (10-5) as B-CU. North Carolina A&T was right behind those two schools with 87 points and seven first-place votes. North Carolina Central (44 points) and South Carolina State (23) rounded out the division.
Maria Yvette Garcia of Florida A&M was voted the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year. She was joined on the preseason team by Howard's Kira Porter, Jurnee Tipton and Fola Wilson, Jordan Jefferson of B-CU, Miajavon Coleman of Coppin State and Courtney Pitt of N.C. A&T.
Voting was done by the league's coaches and sports information directors.
Spartan players return to campus on Aug. 13, with the first practice set for Aug. 15. NSU will hold its annual Green vs. Gold Scrimmage on Aug. 24 at 10 a.m. with its first official match of the season six days later.
Norfolk State went 4-17 last year and 3-7 in the MEAC, good for a fifth-place finish in the division ahead of Delaware State. The Spartans only lost one player from last year's team who saw time on the court, with 15 others back for the upcoming season.
2019 MEAC Volleyball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
(First-Place Votes In Parenthesis)
| Northern Division |
Points |
| Howard (15) |
125 |
| Maryland Eastern Shore (4) |
93 |
| Morgan State (2) |
88 |
| Coppin State |
77 |
| Delaware State |
42 |
| Norfolk State (1) |
37 |
| Southern Division |
Points |
| Florida A&M (10) |
88 |
| Bethune-Cookman (5) |
88 |
| North Carolina A&T (7) |
87 |
| North Carolina Central |
44 |
| South Carolina State |
23 |
2019 MEAC Volleyball Preseason Team
| Name |
Position |
Class |
School |
Hometown |
| Jordan Jefferson |
OH |
Jr. |
Bethune-Cookman |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Miajavon Coleman |
OH |
So. |
Coppin State |
San Antonio, Texas |
| Maria Yvette Garcia |
OH |
Sr. |
Florida A&M |
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Kira Porter |
MB |
Sr. |
Howard |
Lake Tahoe, Nev. |
| Jurnee Tipton |
OH |
Jr. |
Howard |
Ypsilanti, Mich. |
| Fola Wilson |
L |
Jr. |
Howard |
Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Courtney Pitt |
OH |
Jr. |
N.C. A&T |
Farmville, N.C. |
Preseason Player of the Year: Maria Yvette Garcia, Florida A&M
