HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) has unveiled the Preseason Poll ahead of the 2022 women's volleyball season. The Trine University women's volleyball team was tabbed to finish fourth in the conference.
The point totals are determined by votes cast by the association's coaches, who cannot vote for their own team, with low point total receiving the top spot.
The MIAA coaches have selected Calvin University as the preseason favorite with 10 total points and six first-place votes. Hope College was the only other team to garner first-place votes at 13 total points and three first-place votes. Albion College was third with 22 points and the Thunder fourth at 30 points.
Last season, Trine was fourth in the MIAA at 5-3 and finished with an overall record of 17-16. The Thunder picked up a postseason victory at home against Adrian College in the first round of the MIAA Tournament, but fell at Hope in the semifinal round.
Jamie Wozniak is entering her 13th season as head coach of the Trine women's volleyball team in 2022. Although the squad graduates All-MIAA setter Jacqueline Baughman, the Thunder return their other 2021 All-MIAA honoree, sophomore Samantha Carlin. Carlin was a member of the Second Team as a defensive specialist one season ago and led the league with 578 digs.
Olivia Jolliffe, Jocelynn Nicholls and Francesca Queary were the top three student-athletes offensively with over 650 kills combined last season, and all are back in 2022 for Trine. The junior Jolliffe was third in the MIAA with 351 kills in 2021. She was lethal from all six positions last season with a team-high 63 service aces, 284 digs and 33 total blocks.
Nicholls and Queary begin their sophomore seasons after a productive first year for each. Nicholls totaled 161 kills as a middle blocker and led Trine with 66 blocks. Queary had 145 kills in just 30 matches played and chipped in with 58 digs and 19 blocks.
The 2022 senior class consists of Joslynn Battle, Jillian Hannah and Bethany Ulring. They will be surrounded by four juniors, ten sophomores and seven freshmen.
The Thunder open the 2022 season when the team travels to Lake Forest College to compete on September 2-3. First, they play Augustana College at 9 pm ET on Friday, September 2, then square off with Lakeland University and Illinois Tech the following day.