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Women's Volleyball

Virginia Wesleyan Leads Packed ODAC Women's Volleyball Poll

Four Teams Receive First Place Votes

FOREST, Va. — A season after the fourth seed in the conference tournament hoisted the ODAC trophy, the parity of competition inferred by that result is clear in the 2024 ODAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll. Four teams garnered first place consideration following the annual survey of the league's head coaches, with Virginia Wesleyan University sitting in the captain's chair atop the chart.

The Marlins received seven first place votes on the way to 137 total points, but reigning ODAC champion Washington and Lee University sits closely behind in second with 135 markers featuring four top nods. While the block of top-four programs is clearly defined from the rest of the poll, third place Randolph-Macon College (119) is 16 tallies back of WLU despite its title potential recognized with one first place vote. Bridgewater College (118) occupies a similar position, trailing RMC by just one tick and boasting the remaining first place vote to further underscore the parity in ODAC women's volleyball.

In the sections below, we look back to the 2023 season to set the tone for this year and then dive into some features of ODAC women's volleyball for the upcoming 2024 campaign.

2024 ODAC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL
(#) denotes first place votes received

1.Virginia Wesleyan University (7)137 pts.
2.Washington and Lee University (4)135 pts.
3.Randolph-Macon College (1)119 pts.
4.Bridgewater College (1)118 pts.
5.Averett University92 pts.
6.Roanoke College86 pts.
7.University of Lynchburg78 pts.
8.Guilford College63 pts.
9.Eastern Mennonite University57 pts.
10.Randolph College51 pts.
11.Shenandoah University38 pts.
12.Ferrum College26 pts.
13.Hollins University14 pts.
    • Seven of the ODAC's 13 women's volleyball playing members posted .500 or better overall records in 2023 including a chart-topping .812 (26-6) by Virginia Wesleyan
      • Those programs posted a 138-70 (.663) combined record
    • For the second straight season, Virginia Wesleyan finished first in the ODAC table to earn the #1 seed in the conference tournament
      • The Marlins went 12-0 in league play, marking the first unbeaten ODAC slate in the 13-team era of the sport
      • Randolph-Macon and Bridgewater tied at 10-2 with Washington and Lee capping the top-four seeds at 8-3
    • In addition to top-four seeds VWU, RMC, BC, and WLU, the eight-team field included (in order) Roanoke, Averett, Lynchburg, and Guilford
      • Quarterfinals: VWU def. GC, 3-0; WLU def. RC, 3-1; AU def. BC, 3-1; RMC def. LYN, 3-0
      • Semifinals: WLU def. VWU, 3-1; RMC def. AU, 3-1
      • Championship: WLU def. RMC, 3-1
    • Washington and Lee's title increased its ODAC women's volleyball trophy total to 19
      • The Generals have claimed three of the past four conference crowns
    • Randolph-Macon has competed in eight of the past nine ODAC championship matches dating back to 2015 with 2021 marking RMC's only missed title contest in that span
    • ODAC champion Washington and Lee was the lone team to represent the conference in the Division III women's volleyball bracket
    • The Generals traveled to Berry College for regional play and squared off with the host Vikings in the opening round, falling, 3-1, to close their season
    • ODAC teams are now 17-34 (.333) all-time in the Division III women's volleyball playoffs
    • AVCA/TARAFLEX Preseason Division III Women's Volleyball Poll
      • The AVCA released its annual preseason coaches poll on Monday
      • No ODAC teams feature inside of the top-25 listed programs; however, Washington and Lee is among those teams receive votes towards the first survey with 10 markers
      • Two-time reigning national champion (four overall) Juniata College leads the first rankings with 2023 runner-up Hope College sitting second

  • ODAC rosters greet fans in 2024 with 16-of-24 all-conference honorees from 2023 back for another run. That includes four members of the All-ODAC First Team and six stars each from the All-ODAC Second Team and All-ODAC Third Team.

    Two special individual award honors are also back. Head coach Karissa Cumberbatch returns to Virginia Wesleyan's sidelines after picking up her first ODAC Coach of the Year plaque in just her third season in the lead chair. VWU has been the ODAC Tournament's top seed the last two seasons. Bridgewater outside Reagan Stoop flourished as a prolific attacker in her first season as an Eagle, earning her ODAC Rookie of the Year and All-ODAC First Team plaudits.

    • ALL-ODAC FIRST TEAM (4-of-8)
      • Erin Gray – L, Averett
      • Reagan Stoop – OH, Bridgewater
      • Emma Claytor – MH, Virginia Wesleyan
      • Allie Buchholz – S, Washington and Lee
    • ALL-ODAC SECOND TEAM (6-of-8)
      • Emma Nash – OH/MH, Averett
      • Rachael Meyers – MH, Bridgewater
      • Natalie Moore – OH, Guilford
      • Brooke Murdock – MB, Randolph
      • Hannah Smith – OH, Virginia Wesleyan
      • Riley Debiec – OH, Washington and Lee
    • ALL-ODAC THIRD TEAM (6-of-8)
      • Ashley Rutherford – S, Bridgewater
      • Maddi Page – S, Guilford
      • Kailey Keough – OH, Lynchburg
      • Bree Spainhour – RS, Lynchburg
      • Maddy DeCandido – L, Randolph-Macon
      • Grace Mitchener – OH, Washington and Lee

  • The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for each category from the 2023 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

     PLAYER #1PLAYER #2PLAYER #3
    Kills447Reagan Stoop, BC330Riley Debiec, WLU317Emma Nash, AU
    Kills/Set4.26Reagan Stoop, BC3.28Natalie Moore, GC3.08Riley Debiec, WLU
    Attacks1,140Reagan Stoop, BC949Riley Debiec, WLU920Natalie Moore, GC
    Attack %.420Emma Claytor, VWU.313Brooke Murdock, RAND.311Rachael Meyers, BC
    Assists1,078Allie Buchholz, WLU764Maddi Page, GC630Milly Mach, RMC
    Assts/Set9.46Allie Buchholz, WLU8.13Maddi Page, GC7.00Milly Mach, RMC
    Aces68Sophia Maurer, HU49Peyton Kirchner, RC49Reagan Stoop, BC
    Aces/Set0.76Sophia Maurer, HU0.52Peyton Kirchner, RC0.49Natalie Moore, GC
    Digs579Erin Gray, AU457Maddy DeCandido, RMC400Cassi Blackmore, LYN
    Digs/Set5.46Erin Gray, AU4.48Maddy DeCandido, RMC4.44Cassi Blackmore, LYN
    Total Blocks118Brooke Murdock, RAND95Brooklyn Finnerty, RAND93Emma Claytor, VWU
    Blocks/Set1.09Brooke Murdock, RAND1.00Breanna Brooks, VWU0.88Brooklyn Finnerty, RAND
    Points522.0Reagan Stoop, BC382.5Emma Nash, AU373.5Riley Debiec, WLU
    Points/Set4.97Reagan Stoop, BC3.93Natalie Moore, GC3.54Emma Nash, AU

  • Below are the win-loss records for each coach entering the 2024 season.

    COACHSCHOOLSEASON (AT SCHOOL)OVERALL (PCT.)AT SCHOOL (PCT.)
    Olivia EarlsAverett3rd (3rd)34-28 (.548)34-28 (.548)
    Erin HarrisBridgewater14th (14th)222-153 (.592)222-153 (.592)
    Casey SteinbrecherEastern Mennonite5th (5th)33-51 (.393)33-51 (.393)
    Shelbylynn AdairFerrum3rd (3rd)19-36 (.345)19-36 (.345)
    Kelsey GoodmanGuilford2nd (1st)6-16 (.273)1st Season
    Dave McGeeHollins4th (4th)18-61 (.228)18-61 (.228)
    Kevin CardozaLynchburg1st (1st)1st Season1st Season
    Kara MatthewsRandolph11th (11th)100-159 (.386)100-159 (.386)
    Bill RogersRandolph-Macon23rd (23rd)483-197 (.710)483-197 (.710)
    Blair TrailRoanoke26th (26th)408-302 (.575)408-302 (.575)
    Kent ClaybergShenandoah20th (6th)328-260 (.558)38-79 (.325)
    Karissa CumberbatchVirginia Wesleyan4th (4th)70-23 (.753)70-23 (.753)
    Bryan SnyderWashington and Lee27th (27th)656-227 (.743)615-202 (.753)
    • The NCAA is moving to a new process to determine at-large qualifiers to most Division III team-based tournaments
      • The NCAA Power Index (NPI) closely follows a model used by all divisions of ice hockey called Pairwise
      • A computer ranking will be generated for each team sponsoring the sport in Division III using criteria established by each sport's championship committee and confirmed by the overall Division III Championships Committee
      • After all automatic qualifiers have been determined, the NPI rankings will be used to select the remaining teams at-large to fill out tournament fields
      • Pool B, previously reserved for independent schools or those from conferences that do not have automatic qualifiers, has been eliminated, so all teams not receiving automatic bids will be included in the at-large pool
      • NPI rankings will likely be published 3-4 weeks out from NCAA tournament field selections to allow for enough games to be played for proper representation before public display
    • ODAC teams get underway with a series of non-conference matches and tournaments weekend of Friday-Sunday, August 30-September 1
    • The first set of conference matches are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, September 10-11, kicking off a full single round-robin (12 matches) schedule for all league teams
    • The ODAC Tournament will feature an eight-team field competed in a traditional bracket format
      • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, November 12 at the #1-4 Seeds
      • Semifinals: Thursday, November 14 at the two higher seeds in bracket progression
      • Championship: Saturday, November 16 at the highest remaining seed
    • The Division III Women's Volleyball Championship bracket will be announced on NCAA.com on Monday, November 18
      • Regionals: Thursday-Saturday, November 21-23
      • Finals: Wednesday-Saturday, December 4-7 at the Cregger Center at Roanoke College in Salem, Va.