NEW YORK – The Butler volleyball team has been picked to finish third in the conference standings after a vote from the BIG EAST head coaches. The 2018 Preseason Coaches' Poll has Marquette in front with 78 points, Creighton in second with 76 points and Butler taking third with 60 points. Senior middle blocker Bri Lilly was also recognized on Monday by making the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team.
 
Marquette earned six first-place votes to rank first in the preseason poll. The final four first-place votes landed with Creighton who came in just two points shy of the Golden Eagles. Butler edged both Villanova and Seton Hall for third place in the poll. The Wildcats were picked fourth with 57 points while Seton Hall placed fifth with 52.
 
St. John's and Xavier ended in a tie for sixth with 33 points each. Eighth place belonged to Georgetown with 24 points and the Providence Friars were close behind in ninth with 23 points. Rounding out the poll was DePaul with 14 points.
 
Lilly was the lone Bulldog on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team this year. She was one of four middle blockers to earn the recognition and one of just seven student-athletes to be a unanimous selection.
 
In 2017, Lilly set a new BU school record by posting a .378 attack percentage. She recorded 258 kills in just 532 attempts. 200 of her 258 kills came against conference foes. Lilly dialed in over the final weeks of the season to hit .426 against BIG EAST opponents. 81 of her 121 blocks on the season also came against conference competition.
 
Lilly was rewarded for her efforts on the court and was named First Team All-BIG EAST and AVCA All-East Region at the conclusion of the 2017 regular season.
 
She led the team, the BIG EAST Conference and ranked 50th in the NCAA last year in blocks per set (1.23). Her .378 attack percentage was the second highest average in the BIG EAST and the 31st-best in the nation.
  
Lilly set a school record at Marquette by hitting .640 against the Golden Eagles. She recorded 17 kills in just 25 attempts with one error. For the season, Lilly hit .500 or higher in six matches. She recorded at least one block in every match in which she played and recorded a season-high 18 kills in the win over Villanova.
 
2018 Preseason BIG EAST Volleyball Honors
 
Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year – Allie Barber, Marquette, Jr., OH
 
Preseason All-BIG EAST
(listed alphabetically by institution, then last name)
Bri Lilly, Butler, Sr., MB ^
Taryn Kloth, Creighton, Sr., OH ^
Jaali Winters, Creighton, Sr., OH ^
Brittany Witt, Creighton, Jr., L
Brittany Maxwell, DePaul, Sr., RS
Symone Speech, Georgetown, Sr., MB ^
Allie Barber, Marquette, Jr. OH ^
Jenna Rosenthal, Marquette, R-Sr., MB ^
Hope Werch, Marquette, So., OH
Addison Root, Providence, Jr., OH
Erica DiMaulo, St. John's, Jr., S  ^
Abby Thelan, Seton Hall, Sr., OH
Amanda Pedersen-Henry, Villanova, Sr., MB
 
^ - denotes unanimous selection
 
2018 Preseason Coaches' Poll
First-place votes in ( )

1. Marquette (6)	78 pts.
2. Creighton (4)	76
3. Butler	60
4. Villanova	57
5. Seton Hall	52
T6. St. John's	33
T6. Xavier	33
8. Georgetown	24
9. Providence	23
10. DePaul	14