HT predicted to finish third in preseason HBCU Athletic Conference poll

By Alan Wiederhold
HT Athletic Communications
 
AUSTIN – Huston-Tillotson University's volleyball team was predicted to at least equal its 2025 success as the Rams were picked to finish third out of 14 teams in the HBCU Athletic Conference, following a vote of the league's head coaches.
 
The conference's news release earlier this week also noted that HT sophomore Lindsey Morris was named to the league's preseason All-HBCUAC team.
 
The Rams seek to improve upon a successful first year in the HBCU Athletic Conference in 2025, when they 10-2 in league's West Division and reached the semifinals of the postseason tournament. HT defeated Oakwood (Ala.) in the opening round of the 2025 tournament before falling to East Division champion Fisk (Tenn.) in the semifinal round.
 
HT opens the 2026 volleyball season Thursday, Aug. 20, when they host Mid-America Christian (Okla.) to begin the three-day Barnaby's Italian Ice Invitational at Branch Gymnasium.
 
The 2026 poll of conference volleyball coaches predicted HT to finish the regular season behind the league's 2025 division winners Dillad (La.) and Fisk. The Rams split their season series with Dillard in 2025 and gave the Bleu Devils their only loss in conference play.
 
The Rams were the only team besides Dillard and Fisk to receive a first-place vote in the 2026 preseason poll. Four of the top five teams in the predicted order of finish are in the conference's West Division.
 
Morris, a sophomore from Fort Worth, Texas (North Crowley), was the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2025. She led the Rams and ranked seventh in the HBCUAC with 2.72 kills per set.
 
The Rams begin the season Thursday against MACU; first serve is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
– HT –