ADRIAN, Mich. – The Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) announced the 2022 WHAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches poll on Wednesday afternoon. The Siena Heights women's volleyball team was selected to finish fifth in the poll after accumulating 75 points. The Saints finished the 2021 season one spot better than the preseason poll after a 13-7 showing in league play last year.
The Saints women's volleyball team returns a list of starters for the 2022 season, including junior setter Aubrey Bates and sophomore middle blocker Olivia Norman.
Bates was the 2021 WHAC Setter of the Year and first-team All-WHAC member. She reached the 1,000 career assists milestone in just her second season with SHU. The Grand Haven, Michigan native currently sits sixth in career assists with 1,633.
Norman was named to the All-WHAC second-team as well as the all-freshman squad. She led the Saints at the net with 95 total blocks and was second on the team in kills with 232.
Along with Bates and Norman, three returning members from the 2021 team played in 100 sets or more, Payton Osborne (Jr., DS/L), Kadie Carsten (Jr., OH), and Sammy Huddleston (Sr., DS), to provide veteran leadership to SHU.
"It's always exciting to start another season," said SHU head women's volleyball coach Kim Berrington. "We certainly have high expectations, but you never know how the team will come together. We are deep at every position, so I expect to have quite a bit of competition for playing time. The WHAC is always super competitive, so each match will be a battle."
The preseason poll is voted on by the coaches in the league who rank each team in the WHAC from 1-11. Eleven points are given to the team at the top of the list, 10 points to the second-ranked team, and so on to determine the order of the poll.
Cornerstone jumped one spot from its 2021 finish to claim the top spot after receiving five first-place votes and a total of 114 points. Defending WHAC champion Madonna fell to second with four first-place votes and 106 points. Indiana Tech was third with 97 points. Aquinas was granted the final two first-place votes to total 92 points for the fourth-place position. The Saints fell to fifth with their 75 points. Concordia (Mich.) and Lourdes tied for sixth with 62 points. Rochester edged UM-Dearborn by five points to earn eighth. Lawrence Tech and UNOH rounded out the poll in 10th and 11th place, respectively.
Click here for the WHAC release of the 2022 Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll.
