KCAC Communications
WICHITA — Ottawa University has been selected as the top preseason volleyball program within the KCAC for 2020 by Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference coaches.
The Braves went 20-14 in the regular season in 2019, including a 9-3 mark in KCAC play. Ottawa then defeated Friends, Oklahoma Wesleyan, and No. 1 seed Saint Mary to win the 2019 KCAC Volleyball Championship tournament. They defeated Brescia (Ky.) to advance to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship final site, but then went 0-3 in pool play. Ayona Tharps, the 2019 KCAC Volleyball Player of the Year, returns to lead the Braves, along with fellow 2019 first-team All-KCAC member Ryleigh Burdick.
Ottawa received 138 total points, picking up 10 of a possible 13 first-place votes in the process. Saint Mary was not far behind, tallying 131 total points and two first-place votes. Bethany was voted third, accumulating 115 total points, and Kansas Wesleyan rounded out the top four, earning 113 total points and receiving the final first-place votes.
2020 KCAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | Institution | Total Points | First-Place Votes |
| 1 | Ottawa University | 138 | 10 |
| 2 | University of Saint Mary | 131 | 2 |
| 3 | Bethany College | 115 | |
| 4 | Kansas Wesleyan University | 113 | 1 |
| 5 | McPherson College | 104 | |
| 6 | Friends University | 88 | |
| 7 | Southwestern College | 81 | |
| 8 | Tabor College | 65 | |
| 9 | Sterling College | 56 | |
| 10 | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | 53 | |
| 11 | Avila University | 32 | |
| 12 | York College | 21 | |
| 13 | Bethel College | 17 |