Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference announced its 2023 Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ poll Tuesday and Metropolitan State University of Denver leads the way with 195 points.
 
The Roadrunners earned thirteen out of fifteen first-place votes to complement their 195 points after a dominant 2022 campaign. The Roadrunners finished the 2022 season undefeated in conference play before adding the RMAC Volleyball Tournament championship to their trophy case. Following its sweep of the RMAC regular season and tournament titles, MSU Denver earned hosting duties in the NCAA Division II South Central Championship, earning a berth in the regional championship match as the nation’s No. 1 team. The Roadrunners are led by head coach Jenny Glenn, who has guided the program to a staggering .979-win percentage in RMAC regular-season play over the last three seasons.
 
Regis University checks in at number two in RMAC preseason voting with one first-place vote and a grand total of 181 points. The Rangers finished last season with a 22-8 overall record, earning themselves the No. 3 seed in the NCAA DII South Central Championship. Regis returns all four of its top hitters from last season in Halle Theis, Amelia Davis, Nadine Burbrink and Klaudia Sowizral, who combined for 1,182 kills. Additionally, Mara Legrand returns for her graduate season with the Rangers after stamping 1,176 assists to finish 22nd in the nation last year.

The league’s top-three is rounded out by Colorado Mesa, which finished with 169 points and one first-place vote. The Mavericks are coming off a 22-7 season in which they finished 15-3 in RMAC play. Head coach Dave Fleming enters his 19th season and is just one of six coaches in RMAC history to eclipse 300 career wins.

Colorado School of Mines finishes preseason voting in fourth place with 158 points, followed by Colorado State University Pueblo in fifth place with 147 points. Colorado Christian resides in sixth place with 127 points, while University of Colorado Colorado Springs earns seventh place with 114 points.

South Dakota Mines sits in eighth place with 100 points, just ahead of Fort Lewis, which earned 93 points in the preseason coaches’ poll. Adams State (65 points), Chadron State (63 points) and Westminster (45 points) occupy the 10th, 11th and 12th-place positions, respectively. Rounding out the league’s final three spots are New Mexico Highlands (42 points), Black Hills State (39 points) and Western Colorado (37 points).

The 2023 RMAC volleyball season serves up on Thursday, Aug. 31, with both MSU Denver, Regis and Westminster in action. The league’s remaining 12 programs will open their respective seasons the following day. Conference play gets underway on Thursday, Sept. 14, beginning the path to the RMAC Volleyball Tournament, which is set to begin on Tuesday, Nov. 14, with quarterfinal play.