RICHARDSON, Texas – Coming off an American Southwest Conference Tournament run to the semifinals, the Concordia Texas Volleyball team was picked to finish second in the west division as the conference released its preseason poll and players to watch list on Monday.

The Tornados, who finished 19-14 (10-6) in 2017, received 92 points overall, finishing behind only last year's conference champion UT Dallas (115) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (133), who was picked to win the west division. The preseason poll was voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors.

On the Players to Watch list, Marissa Stinson and Georgie Quiroz represented Concordia in the west.

Marissa Stinson had a career year last season, leading the team with 335 kills and 92 total blocks for the Tornados. It is the second-most kills by a CTX player in the 25-point rally-scoring era, while it is the most-ever total blocks in the era for the program, breaking Jordan Redmond's 2015 mark.

For her 2017 performance, Stinson was an All-ASC and West Division First-Team selection.

Quiroz, meanwhile, was stellar in her freshman campaign as she had 26 set aces and averaged 8.37 assists per a set, finishing with 837 on the year to lead the team. It is the second-most single-season assists by a Tornado in the 25-point scoring era.

Concordia Texas begin their season on the road when they face Centenary (La.)  in the first game of the Austin College Classic in Sherman, Texas on August 31 at 2 p.m.
 

ASC Volleyball Preseason Poll
East Division

Rank	Team (1st)	Pts.	2017 Record (ASC)
1.	UT Dallas (23)	115	24-11 (13-3)
2.	East Texas Baptist	91	13-19 (8-8)
3.	LeTourneau	61	10-22 (4-12)
4.	Belhaven #	53	13-17 (7-9)
5.	Louisiana College	25	2-23 (0-16)
	UT Tyler &		22-8 (12-4)

# Eligible for ASC regular-season title, ineligible for ASC Championship/NCAA Division III Championship Tournaments (NCAA Division III Provisional)
& # Ineligible for ASC regular season title, ASC Championship/NCAA Division III Championship Tournaments (NCAA Division II Reclassifying)
 
West Division

Rank	Team (1st)	Pts.	2017 Record (ASC)
1.	Mary Hardin-Baylor (19)	133	28-5 (15-1)
2.	Concordia Texas	92	19-14 (10-6)
3.	McMurry (3)	90	24-10 (11-5)
4.	Hardin-Simmons (1)	76	15-17 (9-7)
5.	Howard Payne	51	9-20 (6-10)
6.	Sul Ross State	24	3-24 (1-15)

 
ASC Volleyball Players to Watch List
East Division

Name	Pos.	Cl.	Team	Hometown
Meredith Augsburger	S	So.	East Texas Baptist	Burleson, Texas
Kianna Crow	OH/RS	Fr.	LeTourneau	Spring, Texas
Reighanna Guzman E	S	Sr.	UT Tyler	San Antonio, Texas
Ryan Hardin	RS	Sr.	Belhaven	Alpine, Texas
Niajia Huval	MB	Fr.	Louisiana College	Breaux Bridge, La.
Sadi Jones	MB	So.	Louisiana College	Breaux Bridge, La.
Samantha Lee E	MB	Sr.	UT Tyler	Georgetown, Texas
Paige Miller E	OH	Sr.	East Texas Baptist	Kerrville, Texas
Lauren Schilling * E	MB	Jr.	UT Dallas	San Antonio, Texas
Caroline Shecterle *E	S	Jr.	UT Dallas	Pearland, Texas
Taylor Smith	OH/DS	Fr.	LeTourneau	Atoscocita, Texas
Lauren Whiting	OH	Sr.	Belhaven	Southaven, Miss.

 
West Division

Name	Cl.	Pos.	Team	Hometown
Zhartaezia Bradley *W	MB	Sr.	Howard Payne	Austin, Texas
Kailey Doering	OH	Jr.	Howard Payne	Little Elm, Texas
Justice McGowan *W	MB	Jr.	McMurry	Waco, Texas
Ashley Pierce	S	Jr.	Hardin-Simmons	Abilene, Texas
Morgan Prince W	RS	Sr.	Hardin-Simmons	Lubbock, Texas
Georgia Quiroz	S	So.	Concordia Texas	Georgetown, Texas
Odalis Rodriguez W	L	Sr.	McMurry	El Paso, Texas
Jordan Scherer	OH	So.	Sul Ross State	Round Rock, Texas
Marissa Stinson *W	MB	Jr.	Concordia Texas	Pearland, Texas
Hannah Zly	L	Jr.	Sul Ross State	Killeen, Texas

 
2017 All-ASC Selection*
2017 East Division Selection ^E
2017 West Division Selection ^W