SUWANEE, Ga. – A In exclusive balloting by the league's head coaches, defending SCAC champion Trinity University is the preseason favorite to win the 2022 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball title.
On the heels of its second league tournament title in the last three years and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Div. III Quarterfinal in the 2021 and 2019 tournaments (after the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic), the Tiger program looks to repeat at the conference postseason event for the 12th time in program history and the first time since the 2013-14 seasons. Last year's conference title marked the 20th in the history of TU volleyball as the program became just the sixth in league history with 20 or more conference titles. The volleyball Tigers joined five other Trinity programs – men's tennis (26), women's soccer (25), women's tennis (24), men's soccer (21) and women's swimming (22) – to accomplish the feat. In addition to the conference tournament title, Trinity posted its first undefeated SCAC regular season since 2007 to also secure the regular season crown.
Trinity, which begins the season ranked fifth in the AVCA coaches' poll, earned seven of the nine first-place votes to tally 79 points in the preseason balloting. The Tigers (34-3 overall in 2021; 16-0 in the SCAC) return a pair of former AVCA All-America honorees from last year's squad in senior rightside hitter Sara Flynn, a 2021 Honorable Mention honoree, and senior middle blocker Emily Ellis, a 2019 Second Teamer. Senior Marisa Amarino returns as the team's starting setter after earning All-SCAC Third Team honors a year ago, along with 2021 SCAC Tournament MVP, senior rightside Sarah Williammee, who landed on the conference's Second Team last season.
Flynn and Williammee combined to be a top 1-2 punch on the opposite pin in 2021 as both Tigers finished with hitting percentages above .320. Amarino reached 20 assists in 23 matches last season as a three-rotation setter and Ellis returns to the lineup after an injury-riddled 2021 campaign that still bolstered her career hitting mark of .388, which is a substantial gap over the program-record that has stood for over 15 years.
The reigning SCAC Coach-of-the-Year, Julie Jenkins will embark on her 38th season as the head coach of the Trinity volleyball program. Last season marked the 15th time Jenkins has been elected by her peers as SCAC Coach-of-the-Year. She leads active NCAA Division III volleyball coaches in terms of victories, and stands third all-time among Division III coaches, becoming the 10th coach in NCAA history across all divisions (and third in NCAA Division III), to cross the 1,000-win plateau. Jenkins has amassed an overall record of 1,019-425 (.706), including a 369-38 (.902) mark in SCAC competition.
Southwestern University (25-6; 12-4) is ranked 18th in the AVCA coaches' poll after returning to the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time since 2017. The Pirates received one first-place vote and finished second in the SCAC preseason poll with 71 total points. Head coach Don Flora returns a pair of All-SCAC performers from last year's SCAC Tournament runner-up squad, led by First Team honoree, senior outside hitter Emma White. White finished her junior season with 353 kills and 48 services aces to lead the Pirates and finished fourth and second, respectively, in those categories in the conference. The 2021 SCAC Elite 19 award winner for volleyball, White also earned AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention honors. Senior Riley Brantley joins White as a returning all-conference performer, earning Third Team accolades last season as a middle blocker. Brantly paced the Pirates with 93 blocks last year, sixth best in the SCAC. Flora enters his seventh season at the helm of the Pirates and his 67 total SCAC wins ranks him seventh all-time in league history.
Colorado College (30-6; 13-3), ranked 14th in the AVCA coaches' poll following the Tigers' 30th NCAA Tournament appearance last season, received the final first-place vote and is predicted to finish third with 65 total points. Last year marked the fourth-straight full season, Colorado College has won at least 30 games. Second-year head coach Sharon Dingman returns three All-Conference performers, highlighted by reigning SCAC Setter-of-the-Year and First Team All-SCAC performer, junior Jenny Jenks. Jenks led the SCAC and finished second in the nation with 1,368 assists last season. She also paced the conference by averaging 10.94 assists per set, good enough for fourth-best in all of Division III. Junior Isabella Lipacis and senior Peyton Hummel join Jenks as returning all-conference honorees. Lipacis secured Second Team accolades last year after finished second in the SCAC with 384 kills, while Hummel took home Third Team honors after finishing fourth in the league with 466 digs.
Texas Lutheran University (19-14; 9-7) received 49 points in the preseason balloting and was the coaches' fourth selection. Last season the Bulldogs produced their first winning mark in SCAC play since the 2017 season and appear poised for another big year with the return of two major award winners from last year's SCAC honors: senior Lexi Morris who was the Backrow-Player-of-the-Year and sophomore Shavonne Respondek who earned Freshman-of-the-Year honors a year ago. Morris led the country with 735 digs last year, while Respondek made an immediate impact for head coach Phyllis Fowler, leading the team in assists (493 – 11th in the SCAC) and finishing second with 31 aces.
University of St. Thomas (11-18; 5-11) finished with 45 points to round out the top five in this year's preseason balloting. Head coach Keanne Burt returns a strong leadership core with six seniors, led by All-SCAC Second Team performer Paige Havel. Havel led the SCAC and NCAA in both blocks (177) and blocks per set (1.61) last year. Joining Havel as returning All-Conference performers from last year's squad is sophomore Ally Peters. Peters earned Third Team accolades after pacing the Celts with 402 digs and finishing fourth in the SCAC with a 4.37 digs per set average.
Austin College (20-11; 7-9) received 42 points to place sixth in the preseason balloting. The 'Roos and head coach Ed Garza reached the 20-win plateau last year for the first time since the 2017 season. Austin College will be led this year by junior outside hitter Victoria Smith, who earned Third Team All-SCAC accolades a year ago after producing 256 kills and 67 blocks.
Rounding out the coaches' preseason poll, University of Dallas (11-17; 5-11) was picked seventh with 21 points, followed by Schreiner University (4-19; 3-13) in eighth with 19 points and Centenary College (15-22; 2-14) in ninth with 14 total points.
The 2022 SCAC Volleyball season is set to tip off with non-conference action on Thursday, September 1, while the first SCAC regular season weekend is scheduled for Saturday, September 24 with Centenary and St. Thomas hosting cross and group pods. Following the completion of the regular season, the top six teams in the league will compete in a single-elimination tournament, hosted by Colorado College November 4 and 5, to determine the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.
2022 SCAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
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| 1. | Trinity University (7) | 79 |
| 2. | Southwestern University (1) | 71 |
| 3. | Colorado College (1) | 65 |
| 4. | Texas Lutheran University | 49 |
| 5. | University of St. Thomas | 45 |
| 6. | Austin College | 42 |
| 7. | University of Dallas | 21 |
| 8. | Schreiner University | 19 |
| 9. | Centenary College | 14 |
