The Tulane volleyball team was picked to win Conference USA in 2008 by a poll of the league’s coaches, which also named Green Wave senior outside hitter Sara Radosevic the Preseason Player of the Year. Fellow senior Bridget Wells and juniors Jenn Miller and Ksenija Vlaskovic were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

“It is an honor to be thought of so highly by the coaches of Conference USA,” Tulane head coach Liz Kritza said. “But it’s not yet an achievement. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we want to earn a C-USA crown. Our players should be proud that their talents are being noticed, but this should serve as motivation for the upcoming season. It would be difficult for them to receive or attack with success if they have one hand patting themselves on the back.”

Radosevic, an outside hitter from Zagreb, Croatia, was named the Preseason Player of the Year after earning her third-straight AVCA All-America honorable mention award last season. She was also named First Team All-Region, First Team All-Conference USA, and Louisiana Player of the Year honors.

She moved up to second on the Wave’s all-time kills list (1,469) with 586 kills last season. With her career 5.23 KPG, she could reach Alicia Robertson’s (1991-94) career mark (1,963) in 95 more games. She also became Tulane’s single-season aces leader and led Tulane with a career-high tying 34 kills in the Wave’s season-ending win at LSU.

Radosevic became Tulane’s single-season aces leader, and moved up to second on the Wave’s all-time kills list (1,469). She led Tulane with a career-high tying 34 kills in the win at LSU. With her career 5.23 KPG, she could reach Alicia Robertson’s (1991-94) career mark (1,963) in 95 more games.

Wells, an opposite side hitter from Raleigh, N.C., also earned AVCA All-America honorable mention and First Team AVCA All-Midwest Region honors. The First Team All-Conference USA selection turned in a breakout performance in her junior season, improving her hitting percentage by almost .200 points to finish in the top 10 in Conference USA at .323.

Junior Ksenija Vlaskovic, was the third hitter honored. The native of Pozarevac, Serbia, earned her second-straight All Conference USA award in 2007, after finishing sixth in C-USA in kills per game with 4.41, joining Radosevic among the single-season leaders in kills at Tulane. She earned AVCA All-District Honorable Mention Honors after being named the AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year last year.

2007 C-USA Libero of the Year Jenn Miller, another AVCA All-America honorable mention selection, was also named Preseason All-Conference. The junior from San Pedro, Calif., finished second in C-USA in digs per game with 5.30 last season and also earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors as she once again set a new single-season record for digs in a season. After becoming the first Tulane player in history with 500 digs in 2007 (with 507), she became the first Wave player to hit 600, with 609 in 2007. She sits fifth all-time at Tulane in digs with 1,116.

 The Green Wave, which finished 28-6 last season and was 30th in the final AVCA poll, will return all 13 student-athletes from last year’s squad. Tulane was second in C-USA last year, at 14-2, the second straight year the Wave turned in a school record for highest C-USA finish and win total. Tulane is 25-7 in C-USA in the last two seasons.

Tulane opens its season on August 29 against Missouri in Utah, at the BYU Molten Classic. Tulane will also face BYU and Utah State before the home opener on Monday, September 1 at Fogelman Arena against MEAC Champion Florida A&M.