PORTLAND, Ore. - The GNAC released its first fall season preseason poll on Wednesday, with Northwest Nazarene volleyball selected to finish seventh by the coaches in the 2022 season.
The Nighthawks were also picked seventh a year ago before finishing eighth in the final standings with a 4-14 conference mark and 7-19 overall record.
Western Washington leads the 2022 preseason poll, as the Vikings received all but one first-place vote from conference coaches. WWU received 98 of a possible 100 points. The Vikings finished 2021 with a 25-5 overall record and a 17-1 GNAC mark, winning the conference championship by five games over Central Washington and Alaska Anchorage, who tied for second in the conference standings.
Central Washington was picked second with 89 points and received all but one second-place vote. Alaska Anchorage is projected third with 74 points and received the remaining first-place vote. Simon Fraser is picked a close fourth with 70 points with Seattle Pacific fifth with 61 points. Rounding out the poll is Alaska (50 pts.), Northwest Nazarene (43 pts.), Montana State Billings (25 pts.), Saint Martin's (22 pts.) and Western Oregon (18 pts.).
NNU looks to a wealth of experience to bounce back from their eighth-place finish in 2021. The Nighthawks return 14 players and seven starters from a team that averaged 11.82 kills per set and led the conference with 17.76 digs per set. Senior outside hitterÂ
Natalie Sullivan earned First Team All-GNAC honors after finishing with 3.66 kills and 2.77 digs per set with a .188 hitting percentage. JuniorÂ
Caroline McMahon ranked second in the conference with 4.66 digs per set.
The Nighthawks will open
the 2022 campaign with a home tournament from August 25-27, hosting Rollins, Azusa Pacific, Texas A&M International, and Emory & Henry during the three-day, five-team, 10-game event. GNAC play will begin at home on Sept. 10 against Central Washington, with NNU facing each of the other nine teams twice, once home and once away, culminating with the road visit to CWU on Nov. 12.
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| 2022 GNAC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL |
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
2021 Record |
GNAC Record (Finish) |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Western Washington (9) |
25-5 |
17-1 (1st) |
98 |
| 2. |
Central Washington |
17-9 |
12-6 (tie 2nd) |
89 |
| 3. |
Alaska Anchorage (1) |
19-12 |
12-6 (tie 2nd) |
74 |
| 4. |
Simon Fraser |
17-9 |
11-7 (tie 4th) |
70 |
| 5. |
Seattle Pacific |
15-10 |
11-7 (tie 4th) |
61 |
| 6. |
Alaska |
18-12 |
11-7 (tie 4th) |
50 |
| 7. |
Northwest Nazarene |
7-19 |
4-14 (8th) |
43 |
| 8. |
Montana State Billings |
12-16 |
7-11 (7th) |
25 |
| 9. |
Saint Martin's |
10-18 |
3-15 (9th) |
22 |
| 10. |
Western Oregon |
4-21 |
2-16 (10th) |
18 |
| Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. |
