CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today the results of the 2023 American Rivers Conference Volleyball Preseason Poll (as voted on by the league's head coaches).
 

2023 American Rivers Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	School (1st place votes)	Points	2022 Record
1.	Coe (8)	64	27-6 overall, 8-0 A-R-C (Conference Champions)
2.	Wartburg (1)	50	15-11 overall, 7-1 A-R-C
3.	Dubuque	43	11-18 overall, 4-4 A-R-C
4.	Nebraska Wesleyan	41	19-11 overall, 4-4 A-RC
5.	Buena Vista	38	13-12 overall, 5-3 A-R-C
6.	Simpson	33	13-12 overall, 4-4 A-R-C
7.	Loras	26	8-19 overall, 2-6 A-R-C
8.	Central	20	10-15 overall, 1-7 A-R-C
9.	Luther	9	8-20 overall, 1-7 A-R-C

Coe is the coaches' choice to win the 2023 American Rivers Conference Volleyball title. The Kohawks, the 2022 conference champion, were chosen first on eight ballots (coaches do not vote on their own team) and earned 64 points to take the No. 1 ranking. Wartburg claimed the second spot with 50 points and one first place vote. The Spartans garnered 43 points to edge out Nebraska Wesleyan who was picked to finish fourth with 41 points. Buena Vista sits in the No. 5 spot with 38 points and Simpson in sixth with 33 points. Loras, Central, and Luther finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively.

American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Top 25 Polls: The AVCA Preseason Top 25 poll has not been released.

New Coaches:

• None

The Schedule: The season's first serves will fly over the net on Saturday, September 1st, with all nine American Rivers Conference schools in non-conference action. Buena Vista will take to the court at the Grinnell / Central Invitational, in Pella, Iowa, where they will play Crown College, out of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), and University of Wisconsin - Stout, from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), on day one of competition. Central will also match up with Crown on their home floor. The Kohawks travel up north to St. Paul, Minnesota for the Kathryne Pals Legacy Invitational where their first contest will be against Concordia University (Wis.) out of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). Dubuque heads over to Wisconsin to open up play at the Ripon College Classic, where they will take on Martin Luther College and University of Wisconsin - Superior, both hailing from the UMAC. The Duhawks will travel to Illinois to compete in the Benedictine Eagle Classic and will face Benedictine University, from the NACC, on the opening day of competition. Luther also will travel to Illinois, but down more south to the Illinois College Invitational, where the Norse are scheduled to face Illinois College, from the Midwest Conference (MWC), and Earlham College, from the Heartland Conference (HCAC), on night one. The Prairie Wolves head out west to California to open up their 2023 campaign at the Pacific Coast Classic where they will face Chapman University and Occidental College, both coming from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Simpson heads south to Texas to face two opponents from the American Southwest Conference (ASC), Concordia (Tex.) and Mary Hardin-Baylor on day one. Rounding out the nine A-R-C institutions, Wartburg heads to the mountains in Colorado to face Hardin-Simmons University (ASC) and Augustana (Ill.), from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). 

The 2023 conference schedule begins on Tuesday, September 26 with Wartburg traveling to Buena Vista. Six other schools will start conference play Wednesday, September 27 with Nebraska Wesleyan traveling to Simpson, Luther hosting Coe, and Loras hosting Dubuque. Central opens conference play on Saturday, September 30 when they travel to Decorah to take on the Norse. The American Rivers Conference season is an eight-game round robin schedule finishing on Wednesday, November 1. 

Conference Tournament: At the conclusion of the regular season conference schedule, the top six teams move onto the 2023 conference tournament. The tournament begins Tuesday, November 7th with the 4/5 seeds and the 3/6 seeds meeting at the higher seeded home court. On Thursday, November 9th, the winner of the 4/5 opening round game will travel to the No. 1 seed, while the 3/6 winner will make the trip to the No. 2 seed. The championship match-up will be held at the home venue of the highest seeded team remaining on Saturday, November 11th. The winner of the 2023 American Rivers Conference Tournament will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

---

 

1st		Coe College Head Coach: DeAnn Akins (18th season, 344-204 record) 2022 Record:  27-6 overall, 8-0 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 1st Starters Returning: 5 Starters Lost: 2 All-Conference Returning: Madi Parson (Sr., OH), Grace Lueken (Jr., MH), Maddy Maahs (Sr., S) DeAnn Akins - "With the A-R-C being as competitive as ever and a strong non-conference schedule, we are very excited to get started. Our returners will provide experience and great leadership while the newcomers will bring (even more) enthusiasm and depth to our team."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Madi Parson - OH (Sr.)	124 sets played // 483 digs // 334 kills // 20 blocks // 17 assists // 58 aces
	Grace Lueken - MH (Jr.)	124 sets played // 304 kills // 92 blocks // 86 digs // 13 assists // 40 aces
	Maddy Maahs - S (Sr.)	124 sets played // 328 digs // 81 kills // 25 blocks // 33 aces // 9.95 assists/set

 

---

 

2nd		Wartburg College Head Coaches: Jennifer Walker (26th season, 559-272) & Doug Frazell (10th season, 220-75) 2022 Record: 15-11 overall, 7-1 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 2nd Starters Returning: 5 Starters Lost: 6 All-Conference Returning: Caroline Kluesner (5th Year, L), Emerson Kracht (Sr., S), Alison Feigenbaum (Jr., MH) All-Conference Lost: None Jennifer Walker/Doug Frazell - "We are looking forward to the start of the 2023 season. We will have a young team with half of our roster being first-years, but we are also returning all of our all-conference selections from 2022. Great leadership from our returners will help develop this team throughout the season. Our opening tournament at Colorado College will give us a good measure of what we will need to focus on as we prepare for another competitive A-R-C season."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Caroline Kluesner - L (5th Year)	93 sets played // 445 digs // 5 kills // 94 assists // 35 aces
	Emerson Kracht - S (Sr.)	93 sets played // 245 kills // 240 digs // 33 blocks // 3.83 assists/set // 42 aces
	Alison Feigenbaum - MH (Jr.)	93 sets played // 238 kills // 87 blocks // 48 digs //14 assists // 7 aces
	Abby Hamann - OH (Jr.)	89 sets played // 209 digs //196 kills // 21 assists // 16 aces // 16 blocks

 

---

 

3rd		University of Dubuque Head Coach: April Elsbernd (15th season, 204-229) 2022 Record: 11-18 overall, 4-4 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 4th Starters Returning: 4 Starters Lost: 2 All-Conference Returning: Emma Powell (Sr., OH) All-Conference Lost: Darby Hawtrey April Elsbernd - "Spartan Volleyball returns seven seniors who have grown together through many challenges, as the freshmen class of fall 2020. Each of them has played significant roles in the program, and we are excited to see them lead in their senior season. Our returners give us a solid foundation, and our incoming players should add even more competitiveness to the gym. With a few extra weeks of non-conference play early in the season to prepare, I believe that A-R-C volleyball will be even more competitive than it has been the last few years. We are hoping for a strong start to build confidence and carry us into conference play."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Emma Powell - OH (Sr.)	107 sets played // 388 kills // 25 assists // 33 aces // 3.98 digs/set // 30 blocks
	Ashlee Adler - OH (Sr.)	87 sets played // 227 digs // 148 kills // 19 blocks
	Payton Uptagraft - MH (So.)	95 sets played // 120 kills // 56 blocks // 22 digs

 

---

4th		Nebraska Wesleyan University Head Coach: Rayna Cain (12th season, 152-134) 2022 Record: 19-11 overall, 4-4 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 5th Starters Returning: 5 Starters Lost: 1 All-Conference Returning: Kennady Klein (Sr., L), Nyah Chambers (Sr., MH), Addie Thomas (Jr., OH) All-Conference Lost: Erica Hopping Rayna Cain - "It should be another exciting season for the Prairie Wolves. We have a strong combination of experienced returners and eager newcomers that are ready for the challenge of a competitive conference and non-conference schedule."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Kennady Klein - L (5th Year)	105 sets played // 73 assists // 19 aces // 4.58 digs/set
	Nyah Chambers - MH (5th Year)	105 sets played // 102 digs // 1.57 kills/set // 58 blocks // 40 aces // 13 assists
	Addie Thomas - OH (Jr.)	98 sets played // 389 kills // 296 digs // 34 blocks // 17 aces
	Shae Gallery - MH (Sr.)	95 sets played // 73 blocks // 71 kills // 21 digs
	Kobie Patten - DS (So.)	105 sets played // 301 digs // 29 kills // 42 aces

 

---

 

5th		Buena Vista University Head Coach: Will Baumann (2nd season, 13-12 record) 2022 Record: 13-12 overall, 5-3 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 3rd Starters Returning: 4 All-Conference Returning: Rachel Brockney (Sr., OH) All-Conference Lost: Taylor Wedemeyer Will Baumann - "We are returning several starters including 4 seniors who will make a very positive impact on our program.  A strong returning core coupled with an influx of 17 freshman will help to create a very competitive and growth-oriented environment to help our program trend in a positive direction.  Our focus is to get better every day, and make everything around us better every day.  We have an outstanding coaching staff, and we have outstanding young people in our program.  There is a lot to be both thankful and excited about as we head into the 2023 volleyball season.”
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Skylar Cole - M (Sr.)	97 sets played // 145 kills // 55 blocks // 6 assists // 36 digs
	Molly McCaulley - RS (Sr.)	75 sets played // 131 kills // 79 digs // 32 aces // 24 blocks
	Molly Bense - L (Sr.)	96 sets played // 24 aces // 3.83 digs/set

 

---

 

6th		Simpson College Head Coach: Kekailoa Palea (3rd season, 23-33 record) 2022 Record: 13-12 overall, 4-4 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 5th Starters Returning: 5 All-Conference Returning: Iman Ghalibaf (Sr., DS/Lib.) All-Conference Lost: Marissa Salber, Jessica Jacobs Kekailoa Palea - "We are excited for this upcoming season, we have a lot of new faces in the gym and our culture continues to head in the right direction. We look to continue to build on our progress in hopes to compete for the top of the conference. Our conference as a whole continues to get stronger, but we look forward to the challenge."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Peyton Mitchell - M (So.)	94 sets played // 128 kills // 45 blocks // 43 digs // 28 aces
	Courtney Paxton - Opp. (Jr.)	66 sets played // 87 kills // 41 digs // 20 blocks
	Rachel Hardwick - DS (Sr.)	79 sets played // 162 digs // 28 aces
	Iman Ghalibaf - DS (Sr.)	93 sets played // 85 assists // 21 aces // 4.66 digs/set

 

---

 

7th		Loras College Head Coach: Kristy Duncan (3rd season, 35-33 2022 Record: 8-19 overall, 2-6 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 7th Starters Returning: 2 All-Conference Returning: Sara Hoskins (Sr., S) All-Conference Lost: None Kristy Duncan - "We are a very young team this year, and are excited to see how our underclassmen develop and learn how to compete in the A-R-C. We will see several new faces on the court this fall but return our senior setter who will be anchoring this squad (several of whom saw the court last year as freshman). We have a strong group of newcomers who will continue to help raise the level of play in our gym and strengthen the culture of our program. We are looking forward to the challenge of another competitive conference season."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Sara Hoskins - S (Sr.)	94 sets played // 290 digs // 57 blocks // 55 kills // 36 aces
	Sophie Younkin - Pin (So.)	74 sets played // 135 kills // 62 digs // 12 blocks

  

---

 

9th		Luther College Head Coach: Brittany Sisk (6th season, 32-93) 2022 Record: 8-20 overall, 1-7 A-R-C 2022 Conference Finish: 9th  Starters Returning: 7 Starters Lost: 2 All-Conference Returning: Sarina Storts (Sr./MB) All-Conference Lost: None Brittany Sisk - "We have made some great strides at the end of the 2022 season. We are excited to continue those strides with that same hunger, and experience that we have returning this season."
	Players to Watch: (Returners Only)	2022 Statistics
	Sarina Stortz - MB (Sr.)	102 sets played // 2.41 kills/set // 71 digs // 40 digs
	Emma Kowalczyk - S (Jr.)	101 sets played // 7.52 assists/set // 79 kills // 15 aces // 214 digs // 24 blocks
	Emily Hagen - (Jr.)	102 sets played // 209 kills // 113 digs // 11 blocks
	Kyah Olson Sola - (Jr.)	102 sets played // 4.02 digs/set // 55 assists // 44 aces // 14 kills