Preseason Volleyball Accolades for Ole Miss Senior Emily Stroup

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

Emily Stroup Photo courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss volleyball senior Emily Stroup got named to the Preseason All-SEC team that was announced on Wednesday by the league office.

Voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches, Stroup enters her final season with a resume already stacked with accomplishments. The outside hitter from Fargo, N.D., is a two-time AVCA All-Region honoree and was dubbed All-SEC last season. 

Stroup, a recent invitee to the U.S. Collegiate National Team Tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colo., ranked second in the nation last year in kills, finishing the season with 584. That total broke the single-season record, which she surpassed against No. 12 Florida in mid-October, replacing herself from 2017 (474).
 
She set a single-match kills program-record three times in 2018, first tallying 30 against LSU (10/7), then 31 against No. 25 Tennessee (11/2), and then again against LSU four days later (32, 11/7). 
 
Stroup was second in the league with 15 double-doubles, after leading the conference for most of the season, and was the only player in the SEC to record at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a match, which she did on back-to-back occasions (10/5, Arkansas/ 10/7, LSU). She tallied 12 matches last season with 20 or more kills, and three with 30 or better.

Coach Steven McRoberts team was picked to finish 10th, in the conference the same spot they were selected to finish in 2018. This season, the Rebels return to the floor middle blocker Nayo Warnell and defensive specialist Nicole Purcell.

Ole Miss will open up the 2019 home slate in the Rebel Invitational as they play host to Iowa State UCF and Rice August 30-Sept. 1.