Volleyball Announces Schedule as Preseason Poll Results Are Released
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's volleyball team will kick off their 2024 season on Saturday, August 31st, when they travel to New York for a tri-match hosted by SUNY Maritime. Along with the Privateers, the Mariners will face off against SUNY Delhi in on the opening day of action, before returning to New London for their home opener on Thursday, September 5th, against Rhode Island College.
The Mariners will look to build upon their first season as a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), when they posted an overall record of 7-18, including a 5-10 mark in conference play. Second-year head coach Tim Gaiser will be looking towards the veteran leadership of senior outside hitter Allison Blum (Garden Grove, Cali.) and junior libero Julia Lent (Miller Place, N.Y.). Blum, whose 250 kills in 2023 ranked second most in a single season in program history, will look to anchor the offensive attack, while Lent, who set the individual season record at Mitchell with 406 digs last fall, will continue to deploy a strong and steady overall game.
With 26 games slated for the regular season, Mitchell is scheduled to face a competitive mix of opponents both from within the GNAC and outside the conference. Out of league matches with SUNY Maritime, SUNY Delhi, Rhode Island College, Framingham State, Coast Guard, Connecticut College, Eastern Connecticut, Bridgewater State, and Curry will comprise for a good amount of the September schedule, while GNAC play officially opens on September 14th. The Mariners dive into conference play with a home match against Rivier on the 14th, before playing at Anna Maria on October 1st in their second GNAC match. Mitchell will conclude their regular season with back to back home GNAC tri-matches on November 2nd and 9th.
Mitchell was also tabbed to finish 12th in the conference standings, as the GNAC announced their 2024 Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll on Friday afternoon. The Mariners earned 84 points in the poll, which was conducted by the league's 16 head coaches this past week.
Reigning Women's Volleyball Champion Lasell was selected as the preseason favorite for the 2024 season, earning 243 points in the voting, including nine of the 16 first place votes.The GNAC tournament runner-up Regis was picked to finish second, earning three first-place votes. Johnson & Wales claimed the third spot with 221 points (one first-place vote).
Simmons, who went undefeated in GNAC play last season, was picked fourth with three first-place votes and Rivier followed up behind to round out the top five with 189 points.
Saint Joseph's (Maine) (184), Emmanuel (168), New England College (130), Colby-Sawyer (108), and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (107) rounded out the top 10 of the poll in that order.
Rounding out the rest of the poll in order was Dean (88), Mitchell (84), Norwich (68), Elms (58), Albertus Magnus (52), and Anna Maria (26).
First serve in the 2023 GNAC Women's Volleyball season is on Friday, August 30th, with teams kicking off non-conference action. The first league match takes place on Saturday, September 14th. Teams will complete a 15-game single round robin conference season with the top 10 teams at the end of the regular season earning berths into the 2024 GNAC Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament. The bracket begins with a Play-In Round featuring the bottom four tournament seeds on Monday, November 11th. The winners of those games will advance to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, November 12th hoping for a chance to move on to the semifinals on Thursday, November 14th. The tournament will conclude with the GNAC Championship match on Saturday, November 16th, with winner claiming the title of GNAC Champion and earning the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
2024 GNAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Lasell 243 (9)
2. Regis 233 (3)
3. Johnson & Wales 221 (1)
4. Simmons 217 (3)
5. Rivier 189
6. Saint Joseph's (Maine) 184
7. Emmanuel 168
8. New England College 130
9. Colby-Sawyer 108
10. University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) 107
11. Dean 88
12. Mitchell 84
13. Norwich 68
14. Elms 58
15. Albertus Magnus 52
16. Anna Maria 26
