Presentation College was picked to finish 6th in the 2022 North Star Athletic Association women’s volleyball coaches’ preseason poll, announced by the conference office Monday. The Saints tallied 19 points in the poll edging out Waldorf (Iowa) and Dickinson State (N.D.), voted by the league’s head coaches.
Presentation finished with a 15-14 overall record last season, snagging their first season above .500 since the COVID season. The Saints finished 5th in the North Star conference standings with 5-9 record in 2021. When asked about this year’s preseason ranking, Coach Albrecht stated “The NSAA volleyball conference is a very competitive league and we look forward to the challenge of competing against many quality teams.” A new season with a new challenge’s ahead she included her excitement for the upcoming season “We graduated 8 seniors in our 2021 class and return a strong core of our 2021 team. We are looking forward to adding our new incoming players to the 2022 team.”
A new favorite emerged this season, for the first time in eight years, Bellevue (Neb.) is the head coaches’ preseason favorite to win the North Star Athletic Association women’s volleyball title. The Bruins collected five first-place votes and 61 total points to claim the top spot in the conference poll.
Past seven season favorite, Viterbo (Wis.), has been knocked off the top and selected to finish second in the preseason poll, collecting the remaining three first-place votes and 59 points.
Dakota State (S.D.) was selected to finish as a strong third in the conference preseason poll with 47 total points. Followed by Valley City State (N.D.) who edged Mayville State (N.D.) by one point to finish fourth (36-35). Waldorf (Iowa) fell behind Presentation taking the seventh slot with 17 points, and Dickinson State (N.D.) finished in the eighth place with 14 points.
All NSAA members will be playing a 14-match schedule (7 matches at home and 7 matches on the road). The conference season officially kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 14 with traveling partners playing each other. Presentation is slated to host Mayville State to kick off official NSAA play.
The Saints begin their season August, 23rd in the Strode, hosting Mount Marty University (S.D.) at 7pm.
The Full 2022 NSAA Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll below:
2022 NSAA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Preseason Poll | ||
Rank | School (First-Place Votes in parenthesis) | Points |
1 | Bellevue (Neb.) (5) | 61 |
2 | Viterbo (Wis.) (3) | 59 |
3 | Dakota State (S.D.) | 47 |
4 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 36 |
5 | Mayville State (N.D.) | 35 |
6 | Presentation (S.D.) | 19 |
7 | Waldorf (Iowa) | 17 |
8 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 14 |