Women's Volleyball | 8/29/2023 12:20:00 PM

RICHMOND – The Earlham College volleyball team earned the third spot in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll after a third-place finish in 2022.

THE SCHEDULE

Contests begin on Friday with the Illinois College Tournament. The Quakers begin with a 6 pm matchup with Blackburn in Jacksonville, Ill. In total, the Quakers will play for matches in the opening-weekend tournament. EC will also have tournament days at Muskingum and Calvin, as well as the Pam Briggs Classic, hosted by Otterbein and Capital. The HCAC slate begins on September 29 with a home match against Manchester in Druley Performance Gym. 

THE PLAYERS

This season, Earlham placed four players on the "Athletes to Watch" list from the conference. Maria Young has been named all conference three times in the HCAC, including a pair of first-team appearances. The senior led the Quakers last season on offense with 385 kills and a .206 attack percentage. Not just an offensive contributor, Young recorded 220 digs, she also hit 35 aces and had 46 blocks on the year. Liv Kyrk earned first team All-HCAC honors last season after she scored 256 kills with a .248 attack percentage. The senior was also second on the team in blocks with 61. Skylar Murray earned the nod after putting up 129 kills in 78 sets last year (1.78 kills/set). First-year defensive specialist Madison Bizjak was included in the listing. Bizjk joins the Quakers from Granite Hills High School in San Diego, California. 

PRESEASON POLL

The Quakers were picked third in the preseason poll for the fourth straight season with 61 total votes. Transylvania University was picked to win the league with 81 votes (nine first-place) with Mount St. Joseph taking second with 72 votes. 

THE COACHES

The coaching staff remains unchanged from the 2021 regular-season HCAC championship team. Lauren Horton returns for her ninth season at the helm of ECVB. The two-time HCAC Coach of the Year is joined by Annemarie Chin, and Cal Pringle. 

HOW TO FOLLOW

goearlham.com will have up-to-the minute information on schedule cancellations and alterations all season long.  Additionally, links for live video and live stats will be published as they become available.