VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — The Southern Virginia University Women's Volleyball team is set to open their 2022 season on Friday, September 2, at the Virginia Wesleyan Tournament, playing three games over the weekend.
The Knights begin their tournament play on Friday, September 2, taking on Millsaps College at 3 pm, followed by a double-header on Saturday against Randolph-Macon at noon, and Virginia Wesleyan at 2 pm.
"This will be a good test to see where we currently are, and where we need to go," said Head Coach
Debby Baker. "All the teams were regionally ranked last year, and we are excited to go up against a tough series of competition."
The Team in Depth
Coming off a historical 2021 season as conference champions and their first trip to the NCAA tournament, the Knights head into this season with a boost of confidence, earning the program's first No. 1 preseason ranking within the USA South Athletic Conference.
Southern Virginia will look to a strong returning class with the likes of reigning USA South Player of the Year
Courtney Pinkston, USA South Rookie of the Year
Sydney Hopkin, and All-Conference member
Emma Steiger to lead the team.
With the graduation of
Elle Warnick, the Knights will continue keeping a close eye on the new starting setter.
Jessi Fietkau will look to take the reins from Warnick as the most experienced setter currently, but freshman
Sage Matheny is looking strong to fight for the position.
Coming back from injury, middle blocker
Katelyn Chamberlain will look to pick up from where she left off last year as a primary target at the net.
Newcomers
Ashley Torbeson,
Abby Gregory, and
Sage Matheny are looking primed with multiple practices and a scrimmage under their belts to start making an immediate impact for the squad.
Keys to the Game
- Connect throughout the middle
- Be aggressive with blocking
Players to Watch
Visit knightathletics.com for live stats and streaming options. Follow the women's volleyball team @knightwvolleyball on Instagram and @knightwvolley on Twitter for more updates and details on the team.
