SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The San Francisco beach volleyball team was chosen as one of the top four teams in the West Coast Conference by the conference's head coaches, and returning sophomore Anna Dalla Vecchia was named to the Preseason All-WCC team, as announced Wednesday by the conference.
 
PRESEASON POLL
 
The Dons earned 18 points in the poll to finish fourth, ahead of Pacific (5th, 17 points), Portland (6th, 11) and Santa Clara (7th, 8). Preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association poll No. 4 Pepperdine was unanimously selected to win its fourth straight WCC title with 36 points. Saint Mary's matched the Waves' three Preseason All-WCC Team members and finished second in the poll with 30 points and one first place vote. Loyola Marymount finished third with 27 points.
 
We are excited to hear about the preseason ranking," said San Francisco assistant coach Shane Tye. "With a such a strong conference it is an honor to be in the top-five. We are looking forward to the season.
 
"We feel we are deeper top to bottom this year, which leads to higher level of competition during practices. We have a nice balance of strong returners as well as talented new faces to round out our team."
 
DALLA VECCHIA HONORED
 
Dalla Vecchia landed on the WCC's 10-player Preseason Team, as voted on by the conference's head coaches. She was one of only two underclassman on the team, and she was the only player not from one of the top three preseason poll teams.
 
Dalla Vecchia returns for her second season on the sand this year with San Francisco. She played at the No. 1 pairs for the Dons in 2018.
 
"It is nice to have strong returners like Carly (Lowry) and Anna to keep the focus and intensity during training," said San Francisco head coach Frank Lavrisha. "We are much deeper this year."
 
2019 SCHEDULE
 
San Francisco kicks off its 2019 slate on Friday with two matches in the South Bay, facing host San Jose State and Feather River College in Saratoga. A four-match opening weekend continues on Saturday when the Dons head to Berkeley to take on host California and South Bay rival Santa Clara.
 
The Dons will play two home matches in Brisbane, hosting East Bay rival Saint Mary's on March 2, and Northern California foe Pacific on April 16. They will also take part in a two-day tournament in Santa Cruz on March 29-30.
 
"We are looking forward to opening weekend," said Tye. "West Valley (College) has an amazing facility and we look forward to playing a couple nice teams there. It will also be a good challenge for us to head over to the East Bay to play Cal and Santa Clara.
 
"We are also excited to be able to host a few matches this year at the new courts in Brisbane. It will be good for us to bring in the strong team of Saint Mary's on March 2."

2019 WCC Beach Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Pl.	School	Points (1st Place)
1.	Pepperdine	36 (6)
2.	Saint Mary's	30 (1)
3.	Loyola Marymount	27
4.	San Francisco	18
5.	Pacific	17
6.	Portland	11
7.	Santa Clara	8

2019 All-WCC Beach Volleyball Preseason Team

Name	School	Yr.
Brook Bauer	Pepperdine	So.
Emily Bible	Saint Mary's	Sr.
Sarah Chase	Saint Mary's	Sr.
Anna Dalla Vecchia	San Francisco	So.
Heidi Dyer	Pepperdine	Sr.
Lindsey Knudsen	Saint Mary's	Sr.
Sara Kovac	Loyola Marymount	Sr.
Deahna Kraft	Pepperdine	Jr.
Jessie Prichard	Loyola Marymount	Jr.
Savannah Slattery	Loyola Marymount	Jr.