PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its women's volleyball preseason coaches poll on Tuesday afternoon, with Seattle Pacific University earning 37 points and being selected to finish eighth.
After winning the conference a season ago, Central Washington was picked to repeat as champions by the conference coaches in 2025. The Wildcats received eight first-place votes and 97 points. Simon Fraser earned one first-place vote and grabbed 84 points to land in second. Western Washington earned the final first-place vote and was tied for third with Alaska Fairbanks in the poll.
The Falcons trailed Alaska Anchorage, Western Oregon and were just two points behind Northwest Nazarene for seventh in the poll. Saint Martin's and Montana State University Billings round out the projected standings.
"I think that this preseason poll actually helps us in one of our key messages for this year, which is to play free, including free of expectations," head coach
Jason Rhine said. "We want to play as hard as possible, as free as possible, and have as much fun as possible along the way. If that is our goal, then it is probably ok that the outside voices and expectations are largely unformed at this point."
The Falcons finished fifth in the conference last season, touting a 10-8 record in GNAC play. SPU closed out 2024 well, winning four of its final five matches of the season.
The Falcons enter 2025 with a new-looking roster. Eight seniors graduated from the program at the end of the 2024 season. Three of whom were named to the GNAC All-Conference team. The 2025 team doesn't have a senior on the roster.
"The one thing that the conference knows about us this year is that almost all our starters have graduated and moved on," Rhine said. "I am not totally surprised that they would give us a preseason prediction that is lower than it has been for a few years."
The group will lean on experienced third-year players
Sophia Chambers,
Avery Veenendall, and
Christina Lopez. Chambers appeared in 21 matches a season ago, scooping up 105 digs while adding 144 assists to the offense. Lopez appeared in 22 matches and had 353 digs as the team's libero. Both Chambers and Lopez were GNAC All-Academic team members in 2024.
Seven newcomers join the Falcons for the 2025 season and beyond. In April, Coach Rhine announced the signings of outside hitters
Grace Holstrom and
Megan Omlid, outside/opposite
Maiya Lester, middle blockers Maddie Benjamin and
Audra Rose, setter
Peyton Ensign, and defensive specialist/libero
Madeline Eggerth.
"There is a lot of excitement in our gym right now, and we as coaches know that we have a great group with a lot of potential," Rhine said. "We look forward to finding this year's team identity on the court and striving to improve every week from this week one all the way through to the end of the season and beyond."
The Falcons host Manhattan University on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 5:00 p.m. in an exhibition match. The Falcons get their season underway at the Otter Invitational in Seaside, Calif. on Sept. 5 and 6.
SPU SOCIAL
Seattle's only NCAA Division II Scholarship Program | #GoFalcons
