DENVER – The New Mexico State volleyball team was picked to win its third-straight Western Athletic Conference Championship and Savannah Davison was slated for Preseason Player of the Year in a poll of the league's coaches, the WAC announced on Wednesday. Joining Davison on the preseason All-WAC team are middle blockers Julianna Salanoa and Lia Mosher.
 
NM State is slated to win the league, garnering eight-of-nine total first-place votes in the coaches' poll for 65 points. Grand Canyon picked up the other first place vote and is picked to finish second with 55 points followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in third (48). California Baptist is picked fourth (42) with UVU close behind at fifth (40). WAC newcomers Dixie State and Tarleton finished in a sixth-place tie with Seattle U (21) with Chicago State rounding out the rankings with 12 points.
 
The Aggies are coming off a 27-4 season with a perfect 16-0 conference record. Last season saw the Aggies make their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after not dropping a single set at the WAC Tournament to cap off back-to-back conference championships.
 
Davison and Salanoa were both named First-Team All-WAC following the 2019 season. Davison, now a redshirt junior, ranked third in the conference in kills per set (3.56) and fourth in kills (384). Davison hit double-digit kills in 25 of the Aggies' 32 matches.
 
Salanoa, a senior, was a dominant force in the middle where she ranked 16^th nationally in blocks per set (1.39) and 22^nd nationally with 150 total blocks. As a team, NM State ranked 2^nd nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.121), seventh in blocks per set (2.89) and 19^th in total blocks (312.5)
 
Joining Salanoa and Davison on the preseason All-WAC team is Mosher, a 6-2 redshirt junior from Ruidoso, N.M. Mosher, who played out of position on the right side most of last season, notched 80.0 total blocks for the Aggies' WAC Championship team.
 
New Mexico State will get its regular season underway against WAC newcomer Dixie State on Jan. 25 and 26.