UHH athletics: Vulcans voted sixth in PacWest Volleyball Preseason Poll
Point Loma won its first-ever Pacific West Conference Volleyball Championship in 2023, and Chaminade was the conference title winner in 2021 and 2022.
Who will win in 2024? The conference coaches couldn’t choose between the two, granting them co-preseason favorites. The first place votes were split evenly between the 14 head coaches in the league, as were the second place votes. Each school compiled 189 voting points—14 points for each first place vote and 13 for each second place vote. Azusa Pacific is third in the annual preseason poll with 154 points, Biola fourth (150), Concordia is fifth (132) and Hawai’i Hilo sixth (113). PacWest newcomer Vanguard rounds out the top-half of the conference members in seventh with 107 poll points.
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While the poll is only a predictor of what’s to come, what is known for sure is that the PacWest has three new teams in 2024. In addition to Vanguard, coming on board this year is Menlo and Jessup. All three schools are transitioning to NCAA Division II and the PacWest after decades as NAIA members in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
2024 PacWest Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
T1. Point Loma (7)
T1. Chaminade (7)
3. Azusa Pacific
4. Biola
5. Concordia
6. Hawai’i Hilo
7. Vanguard
8. Westmont
9. Fresno Pacific
10. Menlo
11. HPU
T12. Academy of Art
T12. Jessup
14. Dominican
Point Loma went 18-2 in PacWest play last season (21-7 overall) and finished one game ahead of Chaminade (17-3). Both advanced to NCAA postseason play, where the Silverswords won their first match before losing to eventual national champion CSU Los Angeles in the west region semifinals. Chaminade wrapped the season with a 30-4 mark. Point Loma returns about half of that championship team, including AVCA All-Americans Abigail Nua and Anna Massari. Six additional returnees are back for head coach Jonathan Scott, along with a group of transfers that include First Team All-Northwest Conference pick Avery Alleman from George Fox and Second Team All-West Coast Conference selection Makenna Joyce of St. Mary’s. Chaminade has a similar story with half of their starting line-up back, anchored by AVCA National Freshman of the Year Leilani Ama and PacWest Newcomer of the Year Lizanyela Lopez. Head coach Kahala Kabalis Hoke also has two impact transfers in Letizia Cammilucci (San Jose State) and Anna Stucci (Santa Clara). Both were starters at those Division I schools.
Azusa Pacific finished in third place in the PacWest last fall, and the coaches placed them there again in the preseason poll. The Cougars last some cornerstones but veteran head coach Chris Keife return three starters and have added three Division I starters in Anya Green (UC Riverside), Delaney Tate (UC Riverside) and Amanda Albertini (Georgia State). Biola, who tied with APU for third place in 2023, is just four poll points behind the Cougars this fall. First-year head coach Brian Failinger has 11 returning players and three starters along with Westcliff grad transfer Abbey Beckwith, an All-CalPac selection. Concordia also has a new coach in Eryn Leja-Martin. She has two returning Second Team All-PacWest players to build around, Kennedy Farley and Caitlin Jarrell. Landing in sixth place in the poll is Hawai’i Hilo, who returns eight players who saw starting time in 2023. Three of those returnees were Second Team All-PacWest selections—Tani Hoke, Taylor Tullo and Isabella Hadaller.
First-year PacWest member Vanguard has the most impressive paper credentials from 2023. The Lions finished 29-2 last season, winning the GSAC and advancing to the NAIA quarterfinals. Head coach Jennifer Dorn has 13 players back from that team including Second Team NAIA All-American Morgan Cole, GSAC Freshman of the Year Kayla Robinson and all-conference selections Bailey Olbur and Rachel Lim. Robinson is 6-foot-5 and Olbur is 6-4.
Westmont (eighth place) was just three poll points behind Vanguard. The Warriors, under head coach Ruth McGolpin, have nine returnees and four starters back from their 2023 team. That includes Second Team All-PacWest pick Taylor Distelberg. Fresno Pacific is another squad with a new leader as Kelsee Montagna takes over the program.
The Sunbirds lost some career program leaders but have three starters to work around.
Newcomer Menlo College has a new coach in Lesli Akeo, who inherited six starters from an 18-9 club that finished second in the GSAC.
That includes all-conference picks Maya Saole-Su’e and Giulis Marinelli. HPU is just two poll points behind the Oaks and veteran head coach Jenic Tumaneng (ninth season) has 13 returnees to build around.
Academy of Art and Jessup are tied for for 12th with Dominican following. Second-year ART U leader Mike Gomez reloaded with five transfers and four freshmen including St. Thomas starter Claire Richard. Jessup has a new coach in Kyle Steele who inherits 17 Warriors with experience, one of them All-GSAC and All-District selection Madalyn Miller. Dominican returns nine players for new Penguin coach Tim Loesch, who has also recruited nine including former All-PacWest performer Rein Bocage (Holy Names), who spent last season at Stanislaus State.
2024 action begins Aug. 29-31 for the Hawai’i schools, while the 11 other PacWest squads begin play Sept. 5-7.
