WISE – If you spend any time on the UVA Wise campus recently you may notice a definite buzz in the air about the upcoming volleyball season. Even the South Atlantic Conference has noticed it as the team has been picked fifth in the conference's Preseason Coaches Poll, which is their highest ranking in the poll since the school joined the SAC in 2019. Riley Brandon, Abigail Curtis, and Mable James have also been listed as Players to Watch by the conference office.

Anderson was picked to finish first, followed by Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne. Carson-Newman placed fourth, followed by UVA Wise and Coker. Tusculum, Catawba, Newberry, and Lincoln Memorial are next, while Mars Hill and Emory & Henry round out the poll.

The fifth place ranking is the highest preseason placement for the Highland Cavs since they were picked fourth in the 2016 Mountain East Conference Preseason Poll, which is the highest ranking in the program's NCAA era. That squad featured five of the top ten players in program history in kills and digs and two of the top five leaders in aces on it. The highest ranking in program history was in 2004, when a very experienced team that featured three future members of the UVA Wise Athletic Hall of Fame (in addition to the head coach) was coming off the program's first-ever appearance in the NAIA Region XII Tournament.

Like those past teams, this season's squad is deep and experienced. A trio of seniors leads the way, with former All-SAC performer Abigail Curtis anchoring the defense, while Riley Brandon and Serina Petersen are key components on offense. Curtis was among the SAC leaders in digs last season with 4.74 digs per set. She currently ranks fifth in career digs with 1,268 and third in digs per set with 4.31. Brandon is a solid player on both offense and defense and was one of only three SAC players to have a triple-double last season. Petersen has been a mainstay on the front line over the past three seasons and ranks eighth in career blocks per set.

Braelynn Williams and Madilyn Pardue return for their junior seasons, where they are joined by Libby Nickels, who transfers in after two seasons at Augusta University. Williams averaged 1.02 kills per set while Pardue was second on the team in assists and fourth in digs last season. At Augusta, Nickels was one of the top servers on the team.

Seven sophomores return from last season, led by SAC All-Freshman team member Mable James. James led the SAC in blocks last season with 73 total, or 1.18 per set. Last season, Mia Poag led the team in kills with 241, while Annabelle Dowell ranked second on the team and seventh in the SAC in blocks. Isabella Baylor, August Betz, Mia Bradley, and Sydney Stone all had solid seasons as freshmen last year.

Joining Nickels as newcomers to the team this season are freshmen Olivia Amos, Lanie Malobabich, Maggy Sechrist and Skye Williams. All of them were all-area and/or all-conference and all have postseason experience during their prep careers..

Also new to the team this season are Head Coach Alexis Ivey and Assistant Coach Kya Moore. Ivey, one of four new head coaches in the SAC this season, has years of experience with the conference, both as a player at Lenoir-Rhyne and as a coach at Conference Carolina school Converse University from 2022-2025. While there she not only defeated several SAC schools during her four year tenure, but also led the Valkyries to their first-ever Conference Carolinas championship and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2024.

Moore joins the staff after coaching club volleyball last season while completing her graduate degree. Moore brings high-level Division I experience as she played at Tennessee, where she helped lead the team to multiple NCAA Tournaments and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2023.

The team opens the 2026 season this Friday as they compete in the Redderson Invitational at Lander University, where they will face Lee and Converse on Friday and Lander on Saturday. They will play at Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba in SAC play on the road before facing Coker in the home opener on Sept. 10. Overall, the team will play 12 matches on the Quillen Court this season.

All home volleyball matches will be free to the public and to keep up with the team all season you can follow them at www.uvawisecavs.com.