PITMAN, NJ --- A familiar name is atop the NJAC Women’s Volleyball preseason poll, as 14-time conference champion Stockton has been predicted to once again win the title based on a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. The Ospreys collected five first-place votes.
Montclair State is predicted to finish second and garnered two first-place votes. Kean also picked up first-place vote and is predicted to finish third. Rowan, which did not compete in the shortened spring season, is picked fourth and has been named the conference’s dark horse for this year. Ramapo rounds out the top five with one first-place vote.
Rutgers-Camden (6), Rutgers-Newark (7), NJCU (8), and William Paterson (9) round out the preseason poll.
The Ospreys have won back-to-back titles and 11 total since 2006. Although the all-conference trio of Emily Sullivan, Julie Kohlhoff, and Christie Louer have graduated, the Ospreys return two senior all-conference honorees in Charlotte Leon and Haley Green as well as grad student Sophia Marzello. Leon, a two-time all-NJAC pick, has amassed 497 career kills, 122 career digs, and 155 total career blocks at the right side position. Green, a First Team pick in the spring, posted a career-best 3.43 kills per set and .403 hitting percentage. Marzello also had a career season in the spring with 2.64 digs per set. She also owns 81 career service aces. Stockton’s 2021 squad has both senior leadership as well as a large incoming class looking to make an immediate impact on the court.
Montclair State enters the season looking for its first title since 2016 as the Red Hawks have advanced to the championship match in two of the past three seasons. They return a trio of seniors to provide the leadership for a potential run, all three of whom were all-conference in the spring. Three-time all-conference and 2019 All-American Carly Waterman is back. The outside hitter owns career averages of 3.32 kills per set and 2.57 digs per set. Fellow outside hitter Leah Higgins, a First Team pick in the spring, posted a career-best 3.00 kills per set and for her career owns 554 total kills. Delaney St. Pierre averaged 7.47 assists at the setter position while contributing 14 kills and 34 digs in 17 sets in the shortened spring season. The Red Hawks return five out of the seven starting positions, and will look to quickly incorporate a large talented freshman class to work through a challenging schedule.
Kean is fielding a young but talented team this year as the Cougars look for the conference plaque once again after winning back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. They will have the services of First Team All-NJAC pick Kayla Thornton, who posted career bests with 2.57 kills per set and a .354 hitting percentage to lead the team in the spring. 2019 Rookie of the Year Sedona Gaard also returns. The outside hitter has averaged 2.03 kills per set and 2.65 digs per set in her career. Senior libero Amanda DeLio, an honorable mention pick in the spring, has recorded 444 career digs and posted a career-high average of 3.67 digs per set earlier this year. The squad has no seniors and two-thirds of the team has not played a full season yet, but Head Coach Don Perkins is pleased by the depth and the bond this squad has already shown.
Rowan returns to the court for the first time since 2019 when the Profs advanced to the conference championship match. They return leaders from that squad, including 2019 all-conference honorees Natalie Ogden and Cassidy Abdalla along with two-time Rookie of the Week Simone Sparano. Ogden, a senior outside hitter, looks to build upon her 2019 season that saw her post numbers of 3.76 digs per set, 2.54 kills per set, 33 total aces, and 18 total blocks. Abdalla recorded 224 total kills and 26 aces in her last season out, and Sparano led the NJAC in total digs (590) in her rookie season. The Profs look to gel once again on the court after missing out on a competitive playing season in 2020-21, but the resilient squad aims to surprise and make a run through the conference again this year.
Ramapo is also back on the court for the first time since 2019 and fields a very young team, but Head Coach Robert Pichardo is pleased with the offensive knowledge his team already possesses. He will look to returners Caleigh Golabek, Stephanie Ross, and Ashley Pichardo to provide leadership. Golabek and Ross were rookies in 2019, and Ashley Pichardo is back on the court for the first time since 2017. Golabek posted 75 kills, 38 digs, 36 blocks, and 18 aces as a rookie. Ross provided a balanced effort with 2.36 digs per set and 1.70 kills per set along with 23 aces in her rookie year. Ashley Pichardo saw action in 22 sets in reserve in her rookie year in 2017. The Roadrunners will look to get their young players game experience quickly to prepare for a potential run through the conference schedule.
Rutgers-Camden looks to build upon a solid spring season that saw the team pick up three wins and advance to the conference semifinals. Three all-conference honorees return to the court for the Scarlet Raptors, including Spring 2021 Rookie of the Year Erica Nebrich and Second Team picks Devyn Cobb and Brinn Hassan. Nebrich provided a balanced attack in her debut season, posting 2.48 kills and 2.00 digs per set along with 13 aces. Hassan, the senior setter, eclipsed the 1,000-assist mark for her career in the spring. She averaged 8.65 per set last year and has also served up 106 career aces. Cobb provides strength at the middle hitter position, and has posted a 2.08 kills per set career average along with 78 total career blocks. The Scarlet Raptors also welcome a number of newcomers looking to make an immediate impact.
Rutgers-Newark returns to the court for the first time since 2019 and will field a very young team. The squad lost all-conference honoree Comfort Akinbo to graduation, and will look for a trio of sophomores to step up on the court. Two-time Rookie of the Week Alexa Rivera returns at the outside hitter position. She posted 3.02 kills and 3.05 digs per set in her debut season along with 32 aces. Outside hitter/right side player Sharon Starling looks to build upon solid numbers from her first season, having recorded 2.25 kills and 1.26 digs per set last time out. Libero Saniyiah Richardson also returns for her second season after scooping 2.30 digs per set in her debut season. Head Coach Megan Knott is pleased with the team’s strong defensive skills as well as their overall perseverance.
NJCU is under the tutelage of new head coach Jordan Robinson this season as he looks to grow the program. He will have senior leadership to guide the new era, with Leah Seickendick, Sydney Lore, and Madeline Lopez returning from a squad that posted its first conference win since September 2017 in the spring. Seickendick, a middle blocker, posted 11 blocks in the shortened spring season and hit .308 in that conference victory over William Paterson in the spring. Lore, a setter, posted 63 assists, 28 digs, and 16 kills in 19 sets in the spring. Lopez, a libero, recorded over 3.00 digs per set to defensively lead the team. The Gothic Knights will also incorporate a handful of newcomers looking to made an immediate impact.
William Paterson will also be guided by a new coach this season, as the Pioneers welcomed Kevin Rodgers a few weeks ago. He will have experience on his team to build off of with three seniors and three juniors. Senior outside hitter Dakota Apicella, a Second Team All-Conference pick in the spring, returns after ranking fourth in the NJAC in both digs (3.50/set) and kills (2.94/set) in the spring. She also owns a career 2.69 digs per set average. Junior setter Kristin Volavka is back after not playing in the spring. In 2019, she posted 8.47 assists per set as a sophomore. She also owns career averages of 6.56 assists and 2.34 digs per set.
2021 NJAC Women’s Volleyball Preseason Poll (first place votes in parentheses)
- Stockton (5)
- Montclair State (2)
- Kean (1)
- Rowan (dark horse)
- Ramapo (1)
- Rutgers-Camden
- Rutgers-Newark
- NJCU
- William Paterson