Sullivan, who earned All-SEC Team honors as a sophomore after hitting .386 and averaging 2.75 kills per set, is one of nine members on the star-studded team, which was voted on by the league's 13 head coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Preseason league-favorite Florida led all schools with three selected to the team: Alex Holston, ?iva Recek and Taylor Unroe. Others named to the preseason team are Carly Kan and Whitney Little of Missouri, Krystal Rivers of Alabama, Brianna Holman from LSU and Kentucky's Morgan Bergren, who is the only player on the 2014 preseason team who was not on the 2013 season-ending All-SEC Team.
Florida is picked to win the team championship, having received the maximum 12 first-place votes for 144 points in the coaches' preseason team poll. Kentucky is projected to finish second, having received 129 points. Defending SEC champion Missouri received the only other first-place vote and is picked to place third with 114 total points, followed by LSU (105 points) and Alabama (102 points).
Texas A&M, which tied for sixth last season with a 10-8 mark in league play, received 89 points and is picked to finish sixth. Arkansas is seventh with 87 points, followed by Georgia (65 points), Auburn (54 points), Ole Miss (50 points) and Tennessee (33 points). South Carolina and Mississippi State round out the poll with 29 and 13 points, respectively.
Points were compiled on a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The Aggies host a Maroon and White scrimmage on Monday, Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. at Reed Arena. They make their season debut Friday, August 29 as the Aggies play host to the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference at 10 a.m. at Reed in the opening match of the two-day Texas A&M Invitational.
A&M opens SEC play Sept. 28 as the Aggies play host to Auburn at 1 p.m. at Reed.
Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli returns 10 letterwinners ‑‑ including four starters -- from last year's team that went 19-12 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. She welcomes eight newcomers, including a six-person freshman recruiting class that was recognized by both Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com.
Season tickets and individual match tickets for A&M home matches are available for purchase at 12thManFoundation.com.
Visit AggieAthletics.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
2014 Preseason All-SEC Team Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown
Krystal Rivers, Alabama OPP 5-10 So. Birmingham, Ala.
Alex Holston, Florida RS 6-1 So. Olney, Md.
?iva Recek, Florida OH 6-0 Jr. Kočevje, Slovenia
Taylor Unroe, Florida L 5-7 Sr. Muncie, Ind.
Morgan Bergren, Kentucky S 6-1 Jr. Muncie, Ind.
Brianna Holman, LSU MB 6-1 So. DeSoto, Texas
Carly Kan, Missouri OH 5-9 So. Honolulu, Hawaii
Whitney Little, Missouri MB 6-3 Sr. Keller, Texas
Shelby Sullivan, Texas A&M MB 6-2 Jr. Richardson, Texas
2014 SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
Place School Points
1. Florida (12) 144
2. Kentucky 129
3. Missouri (1) 114
4. LSU 105
5. Alabama 102
6. Texas A&M 89
7. Arkansas 87
8. Georgia 65
9. Auburn 54
10. Ole Miss 50
11. Tennessee 33
12 South Carolina 29
13. Mississippi State 13