ROCK HILL, SC – With the start of the 2025 volleyball season fast approaching, the South Atlantic Conference has announced their Preseason Coaches Poll and Players to Watch. The UVA Wise Volleyball squad, who are coming off their best season in a decade, have been picked to finish eighth in the Coaches Poll. That marks their highest placement in that poll since joining the SAC in 2019.
Wingate tops the poll, followed by Lenoir-Rhyne and Anderson. Carson-Newman, Lincoln Memorial, Mars Hill, and Tusculum claim spots four through seven. Newberry is ninth, followed by Catawba, Coker, and Emory & Henry.
Abigail Curtis,
Morgan Blankenship, and
Riley Brandon were named Players to Watch.
Curtis returns for her junior season as one of the top liberos in the SAC. Last season the Schoolcraft, Michigan, native had 495 total digs for an average of 5.00 digs per set, which ranked her third in the SAC and in the top 50 nationally. She also led the team in aces with 26.
Blankenship, an outside hitter/right side player from Goode, Virginia, had 205 kills and 52 total blocks in her sophomore season in 2023.
A setter/outside hitter from nearby Kingsport, Tennessee, Brandon is the top offensive returnee on the squad. She had 240 kills and 128 assists last season in addition to 134 digs and 51 total blocks. She also set a new school NCAA record with nine triple doubles.
The team made great strides last season in their third year under Coach
Alyssa Hanley, posting their best record since 2015 and earning a berth in the SAC Tournament for the first time. With an experienced core of talented veterans returning the goals are even higher this season.
Seven starters return from last season and Coach Hanley and Coach
Carly Kempton both canvassed the nation recruiting and have brought in nine new players to help make the program take the next step.
They will open the season in the Fairmont State Classic on September 5-6 before returning home to host Carson-Newman in the SAC opener on Sept. 9. The team then hosts the Cavalier Classic Sept. 12-13 before beginning the heart of the SAC schedule.
The team will host fourteen matches this season, including the nine conference games. Apart from the Cavalier Classic, all matches will have free admission. The Cavalier Classic will cost six dollars per day, which covers four games per day. The complete schedule can be found on
UVAWiseCavs.com.
------------------
2025 SAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
Rank
|
School (First-Place Votes)
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Wingate (10)
|
109
|
|
2.
|
Lenoir-Rhyne (1)
|
97
|
|
3.
|
Anderson (1)
|
89
|
|
4.
|
Carson-Newman
|
76
|
|
5.
|
Lincoln Memorial
|
71
|
|
6.
|
Mars Hill
|
64
|
|
7.
|
Tusculum
|
49
|
|
8.
|
UVA Wise
|
32
|
|
9.
|
Newberry
|
27
|
|
10.
|
Catawba
|
26
|
|
11.
|
Coker
|
21
|
|
12.
|
Emory & Henry
|
11
|
