Nationally-ranked Northwestern lands in top spot of UMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

8/29/2023 10:00:00 AM

ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of Northwestern volleyball team enters the 2023 season picked to be one of the top teams in the entire country. Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) coaches appear to agree as Northwestern was selected as the favorite in the conference preseason poll conducted via a vote by UMAC head coaches. Northwestern starts the year ranked No. 5 in the AVCA Division III national rankings after finishing their 2022 campaign ranked No. 3 in the nation. The Eagles recorded a 34-3 overall record last year, reaching the Division III Final Four and finishing just two successful sets away from reaching the Division III national championship match. Northwestern appears poised to secure their 13th straight UMAC regular season title and fifth consecutive UMAC post-season tournament championship.

Institution	Total Number of Points	2022 UMAC Record	2022 Overall Record
University of Northwestern (7)	49 points	14-0	34-3
University of Wisconsin-Superior	41 points	11-3	16-3
University of Minnesota Morris (1)	39 points	10-4	13-13
Bethany Lutheran College	25 points	6-8	8-18
Martin Luther College	24 points	6-8	10-16
North Central University	24 points	4-10	16-12
Crown College	13 points	0-14	2-26
Northland College	9 points	5-9	11-13
(#) Number of First-Place Votes

Northwestern head coach Beth Wilmeth, a seven-time UMAC Coach of the Year honoree, returns a significant portion of her roster from a season ago. Headlining the list of returning players is graduate senior Marylyn Schroyer, who was a Co-Player of the Year in the UMAC in 2022 and the UMAC Defensive Player of the Year last fall. Schroyer was a 2022 AVCA First Team All-American, the 2022 AVCA Regional Player of the Year, and is a four-time first-team all-conference selection. Joining her with nationally recognized talent is junior outside hitter Abby Glanzer. The 2021 AVCA national Freshman of the Year Award winner, Glanzer is a two-time AVCA First Team All-American and two-time first team all-conference selection. Junior Ari Schmidt returns for the Eagles as well after an impressive sophomore season saw her land AVCA Second Team All-American recognition and first-team all-conference accolades. The middle hitter/blocker duo of Marley Aune and Kiera Brown also are back in purple as both players were honorable mention all-conference in 2022 and Aune was named the UMAC Rookie of the Year in her debut season.

The University of Wisconsin-Superior is slotted to finish second in the UMAC standings in 2023 according to the preseason poll. The Yellowjackets had a historic season in 2022, reaching the UMAC post-season tournament championship for the first time in program history. UW-Superior welcomes back several key contributors from the 2022 team that posted an 11-3 UMAC regular season record and second place finish in the regular season standings. Two second-team all-conference performers from a year ago will anchor the Yellowjackets line-up as junior defensive specialist/libero Jenna Anderson and junior outside hitter Maiana Stark have their sights set on moving UW-Superior into the top spot in the conference standings. Anderson is a two-time second-team all-conference honoree. Senior middle hitter Kaylin Plautz will also strengthen the Yellowjacket roster as Plautz collected honorable mention all-conference accolades in 2022 and will see her role increase further this fall. UW-Superior head coach Lynne Deadrick is just nine wins away from reaching 300 career wins leading the Yellowjacket program.

Minnesota Morris is no stranger to the top of the UMAC volleyball standings as the Cougars have been one of the most successful UMAC volleyball programs since they joined the conference. Minnesota Morris received the only other first-place vote in the preseason poll and grabbed the third spot, the same position in which they finished the 2022 UMAC regular season standings with a 10-4 conference mark. One of the top players in the conference in recent seasons, senior Maggie Jones returns to the line-up for the Cougars after earning UMAC Co-Player of the Year recognition in 2022. The first team all-conference selection will be a top player in the region and strive to bring back the UMAC championship trophy to Minnesota Morris. Senior second-team all-conference selection McKenzie Newton and junior honorable mention all-conference standout Laura Wellbrock will also be key factors in the Cougars’ success during the 2023 season.

The trio of Bethany Lutheran College, Martin Luther College and North Central University will battle for one of the four coveted UMAC post-season tournament berths as the trio landed in the middle pack of the preseason poll. Bethany Lutheran secured the final playoff spot a year ago based on applying the tiebreaker criteria as they tied with Martin Luther with both teams owning 6-8 conference records in 2022. The Vikings of Bethany Lutheran have a new leader as first-year head coach Laura Evans aims to move the Vikings up the UMAC standings into the top tier of conference competitors. Martin Luther will rely heavily on junior Grace Kieselhorst, who received honorable mention all-conference honors in 2022 after leading the Knights in both service aces and kills. North Central set a new program record for wins last season and the Rams have their sights set on taking another step and reaching the UMAC post-season tournament.

Crown College and Northland College wrap-up the list of UMAC teams competing for a conference title in 2023. Both teams will feature new head coaches with Celia Blattner guiding the Polars from Crown and Hope Neargarder leading the Lumberjills from Northland. Both squads will feature a mix of some key returning players and new players looking to contribute to their respective team’s success.

The 2023 volleyball season gets underway this coming weekend with non-conference action starting on Friday, September 1, and conference contests commencing later in September. The UMAC post-season tournament will be pushed back a week from its usual timing due to the NCAA Division III Championship moving back a week for volleyball as well. The UMAC post-season tournament semi-finals will take place on Wednesday, November 8, and the conference post-season tournament championship is scheduled for Saturday, November 11.

TEAM CAPSULES AND NOTES FOR EACH UMAC TEAM
Bethany Lutheran College
Laura Evans, Head Coach | 1st Season

2022 Season
6-8 UMAC, 8-18 Overall Record | 4th in UMAC (tied)
Postseason: Lost to Northwestern in UMAC post-season tournament semi-finals (0-3)

Top Returning Players
Maddie Meyer, Sophomore, OH/MB | 122 kills, .209 attack pct., 74 total blocks
Maddi Wendland, Junior, DS | 305 digs, 40 service aces
Esther Peeters, Junior, OH/DS | 318 assists, 26 service aces, 165 digs

Crown College
Celia Blattner, Head Coach | 1st Season

2022 Season
0-14 UMAC, 2-26 Overall Record | 8th in UMAC

Top Returning Players
Shaelyn McNeill, Sophomore, Setter
Sage Johnston, Junior, Defensive Specialist | 14th in the UMAC for Digs per Set with 2.72
Emma Holey, Sophomore, Defensive Specialist

Martin Luther College
Emma Holzhueter, Head Coach | 2nd Season

2022 Season
6-8 UMAC, 10-16 Overall Record | 4th in UMAC (tied)

Top Returning Players
Grace Kieselhorst, Junior, RS/S | UMAC Honorable Mention 2022 | Led team in Service Aces (41) and Kills (227) in 2022
Lauren Paulsen, Junior, OH | Second on team in Digs (218) and Kills (176) in 2022
Naomi Bridgemen, Senior, Libero| Led team in Digs (306) in 2022.

North Central University
Faith Ooms, Head Coach |7th Season

2022 Season
4-10 UMAC, 16-12 Overall Record | 7th in UMAC

Northland College
Hope Neargarder, Head Coach | 1st Season

2022 Season
5-9 UMAC, 11-13 Overall Record | 6th in UMAC

Top Returning Players
Alexa Zadra, Senior, DS/BRO| 378 Digs, 42 SA, 65 assists
Bailey Wynn, 5th Year, Pin | 205 Kills, 220 Digs, 5 BS/ 12 BA
Shelby Justman, SO, Pin | 200 Kills, 6 BS/ 12 BA, 17 SA

University of Minnesota Morris
Joe Sussenguth, Head Coach | 6th Season

2022 Season
10-4 UMAC, 13-13 Overall Record | 3rd in UMAC
Postseason: Lost to UW-Superior in UMAC post-season tournament semi-finals (2-3)

Top Returning Players
Mckenzie Newton, Senior, Setter| 2nd Team All-UMAC | 8.14 Assists P/S, .45 Blocks P/S, .255 Hitting Efficiency
Maggie Jones, 5th, Middle Blocker| 1st Team All-UMAC, Co-Player of the Year |.300 Hitting Efficiency, 1.05 Blocks Per Set, 2.29 Kills Per Set
Laura Wellbrock, Junior, Outside Hitter| UMAC Honorable Mention | 2.15 Kills P/S, 2.02 Digs P/S, .156 Hitting Efficiency

University of Northwestern
Beth Wilmeth, Head Coach | 20th Season

2022 Season
14-0 UMAC, 34-3 Overall Record | 1st in UMAC

Postseason: Defeated Bethany Lutheran in UMAC post-season tournament semi-final (3-0) and defeated UW-Superior in UMAC post-season tournament championship (3-0);

NCAA Regional defeated North Park (RV) (3-1) in first round, defeated No. 14 UW-Stevens Point (3-0) in second round and defeated No. 11 UW-Whitewater (3-1) in regional final;

NCAA Championship defeated Johns Hopkins (RV) (3-2) in Elite Eight quarterfinals; Lost to No. 2 Juniata College (1-3) in Final Four semi-finals.

Top Returning Players
Marylyn Schroyer, Graduate Senior, L | 2022 UMAC Co-Player of the Year, 2x UMAC Defensive Player of the Year, 4x UMAC First Team All-Conference, 12x UMAC Defensive Player of the Week | 2022 AVCA First Team All-American, 2022 AVCA Region Player of the Year, AVCA National Player of the Week | Career Stats: 5.91 d/s, 2,682 digs, 92 service aces.
Abby Glanzer, Junior, OH | 2021 UMAC Rookie of the Year, 2x UMAC First Team All-Conference, 7x UMAC Offensive Player of the Week | 2x AVCA First Team All-American, 2021 AVCA Freshman of the Year, AVCA National Player of the Week | Career Stats: 4.17 k/s, 904 kills, 3.07 d/s.
Ari Schmidt, Junior, OPP| 2022 UMAC First Team All-Conference, 5x UMAC Offensive Player of the Week | 2022 AVCA Second Team All-American | Career Stats: 2.95 k/s, 492 kills, 0.60 b/s.

University of Wisconsin-Superior
Lynne Deadrick, Head Coach | 21st Season

2022 Season
11-3 UMAC, 16-13 Overall Record | 2nd in UMAC

Postseason: Defeated University of Minnesota Morris (3-2) in UMAC post-season tournament semi-finals; Lost to University of Northwestern (0-3) in UMAC post-season tournament championship.

Top Returning Players
Jenna Anderson, Junior, DS/L | 2021 & 2022 All-UMAC Second Team, 2022 & 2022 UMAC Academic All-Conference | 492 digs, 4.78 d/s, started all 29 matches.
Maiana Stark, Junior, OH/RSH | 2022 All-UMAC Second Team, 2022 UMAC Academic All-Conference | 3.62 p/s, 265 kills, 0.91 d/s.
Kaylin Plautz, Senior, MH/RSH | 2022 All-UMAC HM, 2021 & 2022 UMAC Academic ALL-Conference| Played all 29 matches, 2.76 p/s, 87 blocks.

Schedule

Upper Midwest Athletic Conference

Conference Members

Conference Members

Nationally-ranked Northwestern lands in top spot of UMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll