The Siena Heights women's volleyball team ranked third on the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll as announced by the league on Wednesday.

The Saints rate behind only leading vote-getter Aquinas and defending WHAC champ Indiana Tech.

SHU won 24 matches for the second straight season in 2023, finishing third in the WHAC with a 24-8 overall record and 15-5 slate in conference play. The Saints defeated Lawrence Tech, 3-1, in the WHAC Tournament quarterfinals before falling to Aquinas in the semifinals, 3-1.

SHU returns a trio of All-WHAC performers: Aubrey Bates, Devyne Eisenhauer and Olivia Norman. Bates is a four-time all-conference honoree, having earned First Team accolades in 2021 and 2022 and Second Team recognition in 2020 and 2023. Norman was Second Team in 2021 and First Team in both 2022 and 2023. Eisenhauer was a First Team player in 2022.

The Saints also return Jessica Holsapple, who was named to the WHAC All-Freshman Team, joining Eisenhauer (2022), Norman (2021) and Bates (2020) who were previously All-Freshman players.

Siena Heights will open its season with a tri-match at Bethel (Ind.) on Aug. 21 with contests against Bethel and Indiana-South Bend. The Saints' first home match will be Aug. 28 when Huntington visits the SHU Fieldhouse. After that, SHU will welcome nine other teams to Adrian for the Siena Heights Labor Day Invitational on Aug. 30-31.

WHAC preseason poll
1. Aquinas 139 (7 first-place votes)
2. Indiana Tech 135 (5)
3. Siena Heights 116
4. Madonna 104
5. Cornerstone 98
6. Michigan-Dearborn 73
7. Lawrence Tech 69
8. Northwestern Ohio 60
9. Concordia 51
10. Rochester Christian 38
11. Lourdes 34
12. Defiance 17