MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Aurora University has been selected as the clear favorite to capture the 2022 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) women's volleyball crown.
The Spartans received 389 points and 25 of a possible 28 first-place votes in the poll, which consists of rankings by each of the league's head coaches and head athletics communications professionals. Concordia University Wisconsin ranked second with 361 points and the remaining three first-place votes, while St. Norbert College placed third with 316 points and Benedictine University was fourth with 301 points. Edgewood College (259) ranked fifth followed by Illinois Institute of Technology (240), Wisconsin Lutheran College (231), and Milwaukee School of Engineering (203).
Dominican University (178), Lakeland University (160), Marian University (109), Concordia University Chicago (104), Rockford University (57), and Alverno College (32) round out this year's poll.
Fall 2021 Recap: Aurora (20-9 overall, 12-1 NACC) captured both the regular-season and tournament title last season. The Spartans advanced to the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a first-round match. Concordia Wisconsin (23-5, 11-2 NACC) finished second in league play and advance to the NACC tournament final, while Benedictine (16-12, 10-3 NACC), St. Norbert (19-14, 9-4 NACC), MSOE (21-12, 8-5 NACC), and Illinois Tech (18-12, 8-5 NACC) also qualified for the NACC Tournament.
New Coaches: There will be three new coaches in the NACC this fall. Eddie Aleman takes charge of the Dominican program after spending last season as an assistant at Indiana Institute of Technology. A former NCAA Division III student-athlete at Adrian College, Aleman also has coaching experience with the men's program at William Penn University.
After five seasons as an assistant, Raven Burns was elevated to the top position at Rockford. She was a four-year member of the Concordia Chicago women's program, where she was named a captain as a junior and senior.
The final change on the sidelines is at Concordia Wisconsin, where Kevin Buettner has been named interim head coach. Before joining CUW as an assistant last season, Buettner accumulated 18 years of experience at the club and high school levels.
2022 Schedule: The 2022 NACC schedule gets underway Thursday, Sept. 1 with a pair of nonconference matches - Wisconsin Lutheran at Carroll and Lakeland hosting Carthage. The rest of the NACC will hit the floor over Labor Day Weekend at various sites across the nation.
The league slate begins with seven matches on Wednesday, Sept. 14 as St. Norbert travels to MSOE, Illinois Tech hosts Concordia Chicago, Edgewood is at Concordia Wisconsin, Lakeland makes the trip to Lakeland, Marian entertains Alverno, Dominican faces Rockford, and Aurora visits Benedictine.
NACC Tournament: The top six teams qualifying for the league's postseason tournament. First-round games are slated for Tuesday, Nov. 1, followed by semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 3, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 5. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
2021 NACC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Aurora (25) |
389 |
| Concordia Wisconsin (3) |
361 |
| St. Norbert |
316 |
| Benedictine |
301 |
| Edgewood |
259 |
| Illinois Tech |
240 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
231 |
| MSOE |
203 |
| Dominican |
178 |
| Lakeland |
160 |
| Marian |
109 |
| Concordia Chicago |
104 |
| Rockford |
57 |
| Alverno |
32 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.