Gulf South Conference volleyball coaches expect the Falcons to be in the hunt once again in 2021. In the GSC Preseason Volleyball Coaches Poll, UM was slated for a 3rd place finish behind 2019 conference champion West Florida and Spring Championship Series champion Alabama Huntsville.

After opting out of competition in the spring, the Argonauts return as the favorite to win their fourth consecutive regular season title, capturing 116 points, including 8-of-the-12 first place votes. UAH was chosen second with 107 points and two first place votes. The Falcons received one first place vote and totaled 91 points. 

Auburn Montgomery came in fourth with 89 points, and Union rounded out the top five with 76 points. The remainder of the preseason rankings had Mississippi College, West Georgia and Lee in spots six through eight, respectively. Valdosta State was picked ninth, West Alabama was voted 10th and Shorter was 11th. Christian Brothers was picked 12th to round out the poll.

Evelina Teran lands on Preseason All-GSC First Team
 
Senior outside hitter Evelina Teran has earned a spot on the preseason All-GSC first team. The Fort Walton Beach native was selected to the All-GSC second team after a solid season in 2019. During the 2019 season, Teran played in 110 sets and 32 matches with 31 starts. She finished second on the team in kills with 328, with a .154 hitting percentage, while adding 20 service aces. She was also solid on defense recording 217 digs and 67.0 blocks, which was the second most on the team. Teran was also named to GSC Academic Honor Roll after the 2019 season.

During the GSC Spring Championship Series, Teran put away her 1,000th career kill in the opening match against Shorter. She led the team in kills, finishing with 211, knocking down 4.31 per set. She also added 11 services aces as the Falcons rolled to a 14-1 record. 

The Falcons open the 2021 season on the road at the Union University Invitational, Sept. 3-4, before returning home to Trustmark Arena to host Spring Hill College on Sept. 8.
 

RANK	SCHOOL	TOTAL POINTS
1	West Florida	116 (8)
2	Alabama Huntsville	107 (2)
3	Montevallo	91 (1)
4	Auburn Montgomery	89
5	Union	76
6	Mississippi College	71
7	West Georgia	65
8	Lee	54 (1)
9	Valdosta State	48
10	West Alabama	32
11	Shorter	30
12	Christian Brothers	13

 
(*) First place votes in parentheses 

PRESEASON ALL-GSC TEAM
 

POS.	PLAYER	SCHOOL	YEAR	HOMETOWN
OH/MB	Emily Grace Calhoon^	Union	Jr	Jonesboro, Ark.
OH	Madi Cooler	West Florida	Jr	Hilton Head, S.C.
S	Sabrina Duncan	Alabama Huntsville	Sr	Huntsville, Ala.
OPP	Lexie Laurendine^	Mississippi College	Jr	Clinton, Miss.
S	Isadora Nicolai	Auburn-Montgomery	Sr	Belo Horizonte, Brazil
MB	Kendall Scharbert^	Alabama Huntsville	Sr	Birmingham, Ala.
RS/OH	Evelina Teran^	Montevallo	OH	Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
MB	Veresia Yon*	West Florida	MB	Tallahassee, Fla.
MB	Tierra White*	West Georgia	MB	Columbus, Ga.

* Indicates previous First Team All-GSC selection
^ Indicates previous Second Team All-GSC selection