Little Rock picked fifth in competitive OVC Preseason Volleyball Poll

LITTLE ROCK – The 2025 Ohio Valley Conference volleyball season should be extremely competitive, according to the OVC Preseason Poll released by the league on Thursday. Little Rock is fifth in that poll, but less than 30 points out of the second-place spot in what is expected to be an incredibly exciting season.
 
Defending regular season champion SEMO is picked to win the league again, picking up 15 first-place votes and 194 points, but second-place Lindenwood is just 33 points behind with one first-place vote while Tennessee Tech is 34 points back while picking up the remaining six first-place votes. Morehead State is fourth with 148 points and Western Illinois earned 121 points to give the league an extremely competitive first six teams.
 
"Being picked where we are as opposed to last year when we were in the bottom half shows that we're moving in the right direction. Also, in my experience, I'd rather be a little bit underrated than overrated and have to play day after day with that target on your back," Little Rock head coach Van Compton said. "There's really not much difference between the teams in the top of the OVC and sometimes a lot of parity can make things difficult. You've gotta be at your best every night."
 
The top six spots are an almost mirror image of how they were when the regular season ended in 2024, with the only difference being Little Rock and Western Illinois swapping places. Last season, the top six spots were separated by just four games and places 3-6 were just one game apart. Little Rock started 9-2 in OVC play last year but struggled down the stretch to finish 11-7 before falling in the first round of the OVC Tournament. The Trojans were swept by Tennessee Tech in the postseason after taking both matches in Cookeville, Tenn. during the regular season.
 
Little Rock returns 12 letterwinners from last year's 16-16 squad, including All-OVC Second Team selection Andrea Roman and OVC Player to Watch A'lanae Margaritha. Roman finished fifth in the country and led the OVC last season with 624 digs, setting the program single-season and career records in just her second season. Margaritha made an impact in her first year as a Trojan, leading the team in blocks (115) and attack percentage (.314). The senior also gained valuable experience over the summer competing with the Dominican Republic National Team.
 
"We are really looking forward to seeing what Andrea and Margaritha can do for us this season. Margaritha had a chance to play with her national team and with some very good competition and she came back with a different mentality and a higher level of confidence," Compton said. "Andrea is a very dynamic libero … each year she's gotten better, she's quicker, and her volleyball IQ is higher. She's one of the best at her position. Both of them will be a lot of fun to watch."
 
 
2025 OVC Volleyball Preseason Poll
 

Rank	Team	Points
1.	SEMO (15)	194
2.	Lindenwood (1)	161
3.	Tennessee Tech (6)	160
4.	Morehead State	148
5.	Little Rock	132
6.	Western Illinois	121
7.	SIUE	78
8.	Eastern Illinois	76
9.	UT Martin	48
T10.	Southern Indiana	46
T10.	Tennessee State	46