MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Two-time defending champion Edgewood University has been selected as the favorite to capture the 2025 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) women's volleyball crown.
The Eagles received 374 points and 18 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. Aurora University edged Concordia University Wisconsin for second place in the poll by a single point, 346-345, with the Spartans also securing a 6-4 split over the Falcons for the final 10 first-place votes. St. Norbert College is a close fourth with 333 points.
Lakeland University ranks fifth with 253 points, just ahead of Benedictine University in sixth with 247, while Illinois Institute of Technology (216), Milwaukee School of Engineering (192), and Wisconsin Lutheran College (176) sit seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively, and are expected to battle for the final few spots in this year's NACC Tournament.
Dominican University is 10th with 140 points, while Marian University (118), Concordia University Chicago (109), Rockford University (60), and Alverno College (31) round out this year's poll.
Fall 2024 Recap: Edgewood (24-10, 12-1 NACC) emerged atop the league standings by one game over Concordia Wisconsin (18-11, 11-2 NACC), St. Norbert (19-14, 11-2 NACC), and Aurora (19-13, 11-2 NACC) to win the program's fifth NACC regular-season title and capture the top seed in the NACC Tournament. The Eagles then dispatched MSOE (3-0) and Aurora (3-1) in the first two rounds of the conference tournament to set up a championship matchup with No. 2-seed Concordia Wisconsin. Edgewood swept CUW, 3-0, in the final to avenge a five-set loss during the regular season and win a second-straight NACC Tournament crown.
Edgewood secured the NACC's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championship, falling to UW-Platteville, 3-0, in a first-round match.
New Coaches: There will be two new coaches in the NACC this fall. A dual graduate of Marian, Blake Badtke '22, '24 returned to arrived at Marian last December to assume control over both the men's and women's programs for the Sabres. A three-year player on the Marian men's volleyball squad, Badtke had also served as an assistant for the Fond du Lac High School boys' volleyball program since 2019. He also spent time as a graduate assistant in the Marian athletics communications department. Last spring, Badtke led the Marian men to a 13-15 mark overall that included a 12-2 record at home. The Sabres earned the No. 5 seed in the NACC Tournament with a 6-6 league record.
Zach Rothstein is the new head coach at Rockford. Rothstein was hired in February after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Centre College in Kentucky. He also spent one season on the sidelines at his alma mater, Fontbonne University. Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Rothstein spent five seasons as a student-athlete for the Griffins, earning All-Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) honors four times. He was also twice voted the MCVL Defensive Player of the Year. In 120 matches as Fontbonne's libero, Rothstein amassed an NCAA Division III-record 1,327 digs and, in 2018, led all NCAA Division III men's volleyball players in digs per set (3.64).
2025 Schedule: The 2025 schedule gets underway Friday, Aug. 29 with 17 matches involving 10 of 14 NACC schools. Concordia Wisconsin opens against Ohio Northern and Hope on Saturday, Aug. 30, in Holland, Michigan, while Rockford faces Marian and Lawrence in a triangular at Appleton, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, Sept. 3. The final two NACC programs to start - Dominican and Illinois Tech - enter the fray on Friday, Sept. 5. The Stars face Muskingum and Greenville at the DePauw Invitational, while Illinois Tech plays Lawrence to open the Univeristy of Chicago Rosalie Resch Invitational.
The league slate begins on Wednesday, Sept. 17, as St. Norbert plays host to Wisconsin Lutheran. Additionally, Edgewood travels to Illinois Tech on Saturday, Sept. 20, as part of a triangular with North Central (Ill.). The rest of the NACC begins league play the following week. Alverno hosts Wisconsin Lutheran, Aurora entertains Illinois Tech, and Concordia Chicago travels to Rockford on Wednesday, Sept. 24, while Benedictine travels to Concordia Wisconsin, MSOE hosts Dominican, Edgewood is at Lakeland, and Marian entertains St. Norbert on Thursday, Sept. 25. The NACC slate concludes with seven matches scheduled for Nov. 7-8.
NACC Tournament: The top eight teams in the final regular-season standings will qualify for the league's postseason tournament. First-round games are slated for Tuesday, Nov. 11, followed by semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 13, and the tournament final on Saturday, Nov. 15. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship.
2025 NACC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Edgewood (18) |
374 |
| Aurora (6) |
346 |
| Concordia Wisconsin (4) |
345 |
| St. Norbert |
333 |
| Lakeland |
253 |
| Benedictine |
247 |
| Illinois Tech |
216 |
| MSOE |
192 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
176 |
| Dominican |
140 |
| Marian |
118 |
| Concordia Chicago |
109 |
| Rockford |
60 |
| Alverno |
31 |
Note: First-place votes in parentheses.