PORTLAND, Ore. – Year in and year out, no two volleyball teams seem to be more evenly matched than Seattle Pacific and Central Washington.
 
Heading into the 2024 season, coaches around the Great Northwest Athletic Conference apparently are inclined to agree.
 
The Wildcats and Falcons are ranked 1-2 in the preseason poll that was announced by the GNAC office on Wednesday – and they are separated by just one point. SPU received six of the 10 first-place votes and 90 points. Central got two first-place votes, factoring into its total of 91 points.
 
Those two teams have battled back and forth since 1986 when the Seattle Pacific program started. They have played 86 all-time matches, and the Falcons have a narrow 44-42 lead. The all-time sets between them are dead even at 162-162.
 
Of those 86 matches, 24 of them – including the last four in a row – have gone to a decisive fifth set. SPU has a 14-10 advantage in those five-setters. Both teams have had their periods of dominance. The Falcons have won the last nine in a row – a series record. But prior to that, the Wildcats won 12 of 14, including seven straight from 2013-16.

 

"It's not surprising in the sense that it was really close in our matches last year with them, and the race for first place last year was very close throughout the conference season," coach Jason Rhine, starting his third year at the helm, said of the tight polling. "It's great any time the GNAC is recognizing we have a competitive team and we have a lot of good players coming back. That's true of Central and other teams, as well."
 
Perennial power Western Washington was picked third with 75 points, just ahead of Simon Fraser, which received the other two first-place votes and was fourth overall with 74.
 
Seattle Pacific is the defending conference champion, having put together one of its best-ever seasons. The Falcons were 22-5 overall, including 16-2 in conference play to claim their first GNAC title since 2011. That led to their first NCAA Tournament invitation since 2011, but they came up short against eventual national champion Cal State Los Angeles in the first round, 3-1.
 
"It's fun coming off a GNAC championship last year, and we're just hoping to bring that momentum into this year and defend it well and compete against a lot of good teams in 2024," Rhine said. "It's always a good volleyball conference and we know there are going to be a lot of teams that are going to be as good or better than last year. We're excited to get a lot of good matches inside and outside of the GNAC."
 
Nearly everyone is back for another run at it, including five players who are taking advantage of a fifth year of eligibility granted by the NCAA because of the 2020 pandemic shutdown.
 
 

At the head of that group are middle blockers Hannah Hair and Allison Wilks. Hair, a second-team All-American, led D2 in blocking last fall at 1.63 per set and was second in total blocks with 160. She was voted GNAC Player of the Year and GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, the first one ever to win both of those awards in the same season.
 
Wilks hit .404 (162 kills-32 errors-322 attacks), the first Falcon ever to finish the season north of .400. Like Hair, she was an All-GNAC first-team choice.
 
 

Also back up front is fifth-year opposite Erin Smith. She enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023, with season-bests of 220 kills, .201 hitting, 89 blocks, and 268.0 points. Fifth-year outside hitter Sydney Perry, the tallest returning Falcon at 6-foot-3, added 133 kills and a single-season best 85 digs.
 
 

Setting up all of that offense are senior Emily Tulino and sophomore Sophia Chambers. Tulino is a two-time All-GNAC honorable mention pick. She played all 101 sets in 2023, racking up single-season bests of 568 assists and 224 digs, plus 30 service aces. Chambers made an immediate impact as a freshman in Seattle Pacific's 6-2 system with 394 assists, along with 240 digs and 19 aces.
 
 

A pair of solid liberos – senior Abigail Cunningham and sophomore Christina Lopez – are returning. Lopez worked her way into the regular lineup and came up with a team-leading 275 digs. Cunningham tallied 180 digs. Zoe Shuckhart, now in her fifth year, became a regular in the rotation, as well, with 71 digs and 13 aces.
 
Junior outside hitter Anna Pelluer, sophomore opposite Coco Barnett, and sophomore setter Avery Veenendall saw spot duty and will be looking for a bigger piece of the action.
 
SPU will be missing the services of fifth-year outside hitter Sarah Brachvogel. She had by far her best season in 2023 with a team-leading 340 kills on .216 hitting, plus 36 service aces and 50 blocks for 404.5 points, along with 204 digs. Brachvogel sustained a knee injury during the spring season.
 
The Falcons are bringing six freshmen into the fold. Outside hitter Eva LaRochelle was a two-time Colorado state champion with Palmer Ridge High School. Middle blocker Brooke Williams was on the Oregon state runner-up team last season at Oregon City. Elle McCandless was the career leading blocker at Skyridge High School in Lehi, Utah.
 
Libero / defensive specialist Makayla Hickman had 1,310 career digs at Ridgeline High in Liberty Lake, Washington. Outside hitter Joslyn Greff was a four-time team MVP at Cedar Park Christian in nearby Bothell. Opposite / outside Amaya Evans was a four-time All-League and three-time All-District player at Saint Amant High in Darrow, Louisiana.
 
Seattle Pacific will get put to the test right away with a rugged preseason schedule. Their eight opponents include six who made last year's NCAA Tournament. Up first is the Yotes Classic at Cal State San Bernardino on Sept. 5-7, followed by the Colorado Premier Challenge on Sept. 13-14 at Regis and Metro State in Denver.
 
Conference play begins on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Montana State Billings, followed by trips to Northwest Nazarene on Sept. 26 and then a battle with Central in Ellensburg on Saturday, Sept. 28.
 
The home opener is Thursday, Oct. 3, against Alaska Fairbanks at 7:00 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion.
 
 
2024 GNAC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL 
Rank   Team (1st-place votes)     Points   2023        GNAC (Place)
 1     Central Washington (2)       91     20-7        14-4 (2nd)
 2     Seattle Pacific (6)          90`    22-5        16-2 (1st)
 3     Western Washington           75     12-14       12-6 (3rd)
 4     Simon Fraser (2)             74     16-10       11-7 (4th)
 5     Alaska Anchorage             59     16-17       8-10 (6th)
 6     Alaska Fairbanks             49     14-18       7-11 (T7th)
 7     Northwest Nazarene           38     11-15       7-11 (T7th)
 8     Western Oregon               33     10-16       4-14 (9th)
 9     Saint Martin's               29     17-11       10-8 (5th)
10     Montana State Billings       12      3-25       1-17 (10th)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis


SPU SOCIAL 

• Twitter - @SPUSports & @SPUvball
• Instagram - @SPUSports & @Spuvball
• Facebook - /SPUSports

Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons