FOREST, Va. --- Five teams earned at least 100 points from the league's head coaches with defending champion Randolph-Macon College topping the chart in the 2023 ODAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll.

The Yellow Jackets garnered six first place votes on the way to 137 total points. Virginia Wesleyan University sits second with 129 markers powered by three top nods. Washington and Lee University, winners of an ODAC-record 18 conference trophies, slot third with 127 tallies featuring four first place considerations. After a runner-up finish in its first ODAC season, Averett University appears fourth in the annual survey with 115 points. Bridgewater College hit right on the century mark to earn fifth position.

In the following sections, we take a quick look back at last season and get a feel for what to expect in the upcoming women's volleyball campaign.

2022 ODAC TOURNAMENT

• Seven of the ODAC's 13 volleyball programs boasted .500 or better records with four greater than .600.
• Virginia Wesleyan earned the #1 seed after an 11-1 mark, while ODAC tiebreakers sifted through a trio at 10-2 to sequentially seed Averett, Washington and Lee, and Randolph-Macon at seeds 2-4.
• Four of the bracket's seven matches required just three sets to determine winners with zero five set affairs for the first time since 2019.
• Two upsets occurred beginning with match one as #8 Roanoke topped #1 Virginia Wesleyan, 3-1.
• #4 Randolph-Macon defeated #5 Bridgewater, 3-0, in the quarterfinals and then downed Roanoke, 3-0, to earn its 13th berth in the ODAC title match.
• #2 Averett earned a 3-1 win over #7 Eastern Mennonite and #3 Washington and Lee toppled #6 Lynchburg, 3-0, to setup the second semifinal; the Cougars scored a 3-1 victory of the Generals to qualify and host the school's first ODAC final.
• Two of the three sets in the championship required extra play; the Yellow Jackets sandwiched a 25-21 win in the second set with a pair of 26-24 triumphs in sets one and three to collect RMC's seventh ODAC title, third-most in conference history (W&L 18, EMU 8).

2022 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT -- NCAA Bracket

• Randolph-Macon was the lone ODAC team selected to the 64-team bracket as the conference's automatic qualifier.
• The Yellow Jackets traveled to Transylvania University for early round play and squared off with the host Pioneers; RMC's season closed after the first round with a 3-0 loss to TU.
• Randolph-Macon is now 8-9 (.471) in nine NCAA Tournament appearances.

THE NATIONAL SCENE ENTERING 2022

• The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its annual AVCA/TARAFLEX Division III Women's Volleyball Poll on Augusts 23; no ODAC teams featured in the top-25 or those listed as receiving more than one vote outside of the poll.
• Reigning national champion Juniata College tops the chart with 2,140 points.
• Barring any changes, the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket will feature 64 schools; 44 will qualify by automatic bid from their conferences in "Pool A," with one possible spot reserved for "Pool B" as independent schools or those in conference's that do not qualify for an automatic berth; the remaining 19 squads will be chosen at-large by the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Committee from "Pool C," which includes all remaining teams not entered by Pool A or B processes.

RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for each category from the 2022-23 season.
Kills/Set, Digs/Set, Blocks/Set, and Points/Set Minimums: 50% of team games played
Attack Pct. Minimums: 50% of team games played and 3.0 attacks/set

• Kills -- 563 - Grace Parker (RMC); 454 - Sydney Heifner (W&L); 321 - Rylee Mayer (RC)
• Kills/Set -- 5.36 - Grace Parker (RMC); 3.69 - Sydney Heifner (W&L); 3.36 - Jillian Warter (SU)
• Attacks -- 1,478 - Sydney Heifner (W&L); 1,324 - Grace Parker (RMC); 957 - Rylee Mayer (RC)
• Attack Pct. -- .331 - Peyton Kirchner (RC); .303 - Rachael Meyers (BC); .298 - Brooklyn Finnerty (RAND)
• Assists-- 854 - Mya Green (LYN); 852 - Kylee Draper (RC); 753 - Milly Mach (RMC)
• Assists/Set -- 9.38 - Mya Green (LYN); 8.69 - Kylee Draper (RC); 7.72 - Megan Miller (EMU)
• Service Aces -- 69 - Haley Sutton (VWU); 57 - Mia Zazzero (RMC); 48 - Mara Woolford (EMU)
• Digs -- 629 - Erin Gray (AU); 468 - Leslie Curry (RMC); 460 - Cassi Blackmore (LYN)
• Digs/Set -- 5.42 - Erin Gray (AU); 5.23 - Cassi Blackmore (LYN); 4.37 - Leslie Currie (RMC)
• Total Blocks -- 118 - Brooke Murdock (RAND); 77 - Peyton Kirchner (RC); 75 - Makaila Veney (FC)
• Blocks/Set -- 1.39 - Brooke Murdock (RAND); 0.88 - Emma Claytor (VWU); 0.83 - Aaliyah Chunn (SU)
• Points Earned -- 629.0 - Grace Parker (RMC); 512.0 - Sydney Heifner (W&L); 376.0 - Peyton Kirchner (RC)
• Points/Set -- 5.99 - Grace Parker (RMC); 4.16 - Sydney Heifner (W&L); 3.84 - Peyton Kirchner (RC)

RETURNING ALL-ODAC TALENT -- 2022 All-ODAC Women's Volleyball Awards
One less All-ODAC honoree is returning in 2023 than in 2022 with 14-of-24 all-conference stars back on league rosters. Virginia Wesleyan leads that list with 4-of-5 standout Marlins returning. Randolph-Macon is the only other squad with multiple returners with three all-league Jackets back in Ashland including ODAC Player of the Year, outside hitter Grace Parker, and ODAC Rookie of the Year, setter Milly Mach. Reigning ODAC Coach of the Year, Olivia Earls, is set to guide Averett into their second ODAC season.

Listed below are the All-ODAC players from 2022 back for another run in 2023.

   FIRST TEAM (5)

• Erin Gray (AU) -- Libero
• Grace Parker (RMC) -- Outside Hitter (POY)
• Abigail Mahoney (VWU) -- Outside Hitter
• Haley Sutton (VWU) -- Setter
• Sydney Heifner (W&L) -- Outside Hitter

   SECOND TEAM (5)

• Rachael Meyers (BC) -- Middle Hitter
• Mya Green (LYN) -- Setter
• Peyton Kirchner (RC) -- Middle Hitter
• Jillian Warter (SU) -- Outside Hitter
• Morgan Ludovici (VWU) -- Outside Hitter

   THIRD TEAM (4)

• Brooke Murdock (RAND) -- Middle Hitter
• Megan Bost (RMC) -- Right Side
• Milly Mach (RMC) -- Setter
• Emma Claytor (VWU) -- Middle Blocker

ODAC HEAD COACHES
The ODAC features some of the best coaches in the business. W&L's Bryan Snyder leads the group with 634 career wins including 593 at Washington and Lee. Randolph-Macon's Bill Rogers is approaching 500 career victories with 464 through 21 seasons in Ashland. Roanoke's Blair Trail will hit 400 wins with the Maroons seventh victory this season, and Bridgewater's Erin Harris will reach 200 wins when the Eagles earn their first triumph of the year.

* NCAA coaching records book are not yet updated following the 2022 season; Bryan Snyder is inside the top-15 among active coaches by victories.

• Olivia Earls (AU) -- Overall: 20-11 (.645)/1 | at AU: 20-11 (.645)/1
  • 1x ODAC Coach of the Year: 2022
• Erin Harris (BC) -- Overall: 199-147 (.575)/12 | at BC: 199-147 (.575)/12
  • 1x ODAC Coach of the Year: 2018
• Casey Steinbrecher (EMU) -- Overall: 21-36 (.368)/3 | at EMU: 21-36 (.368)/3
• Shelbylynn Adair (FC) -- Overall: 9-19 (.321)/1 | at FC: 9-19 (.321)/1
• Emily Gann (GC) -- Overall: 164-264 (.383)/17 | at GC: 164-264 (.383)/17
• Dave McGee (HU) -- Overall: 12-39 (.235)/2 | at HU: 12-39 (.235)/2
• Hannah Givens (LYN) -- Overall: 35-31 (.530)/3 | at LYN: 35-31 (.530)/3
• Kara Matthews (RAND) -- Overall: 85-144 (.371)/9 | at RAND: 85-144 (.371)/9
• Bill Rogers (R-MC) -- Overall: 464-187 (.713)/21 | at R-MC: 464-187 (.713)/21
  • 6x ODAC Coach of the Year: 2009, 12, 14-17
• Blair Trail (RC) -- Overall: 393-289 (.576)/24 | at RC: 393-289 (.576)/24
• Kent Clayberg (SU) -- Overall: 320-240 (.571)/19 | at SU: 30-59 (.337)/4
• Karissa Cumberbatch (VWU) -- Overall: 44-17 (.721)/2 | at VWU: 44-17 (.721)/2
• Bryan Snyder (W&L) -- Overall: 634-216 (.746)/25 | at W&L: 593-191 (.756)/23
  • 11x ODAC Coach of the Year: 2001-06, 10-11, 13, 21 (spring), 21 (fall)

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• The 13-team ODAC contingent will play a 12-match round-robin schedule in addition to each school's non-league slate.
• The top eight teams in the ODAC standings from conference play will qualify for the ODAC Women's Volleyball Tournament; the winner of the tournament will earn the conference's automatic entry to the NCAA postseason.
• The 2023 ODAC Women's Volleyball Tournament Schedule features:
  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, November 7 at the #1-4 Seeds
  • Semifinals: Thursday, November 9 at the two highest remaining seeds (bracket progression)
  • Championship: Saturday, November 11 at the highest remaining seed
  • All game times are TBD
• The NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament field will be finalized on Sunday, November 12, with announcement on NCAA.com on Monday, November 13.

Listed below is the 2023 ODAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll. For more information on ODAC women's volleyball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at odaconline.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.
 

2023 ODAC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL (#) denotes 1st place votes
1	Randolph-Macon College (6)	137 pts.
2	Virginia Wesleyan University (3)	129 pts.
3	Washington and Lee University (4)	127 pts.
4	Averett University	115 pts.
5	Bridgewater College	100 pts.
6	Roanoke College	81 pts.
7	University of Lynchburg	77 pts.
8	Eastern Mennonite University	60 pts.
9	Guilford College	56 pts.
10	Shenandoah University	54 pts.
11	Randolph College	41 pts.
12	Ferrum College	24 pts.
13	Hollins University	13 pts.