Defending Champion Vassar College tops the 2024 United Volleyball Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, released on Thursday, Jan. 4. The poll was voted on by all eight UVC head coaches.
Vassar earned 44 points in the preseason poll and received four of the eight first-place votes. The Brewers enjoyed an historic season in 2023, finishing 26-2, while advancing to the NCAA National Semifinals. The Brewers won 25 straight contests and were the No. 1 team in Division III for two weeks for the first time in program history last season. Vassar is looking to earn its third UVC title in the last four seasons in 2024.
NYU is picked to finish second in the 2024 UVC Preseason poll with 36 points and a pair of first place votes. The Violets advanced to the first round of the UVC postseason in 2023 and are looking for their first UVC Championship since 2017.
St. John Fisher, 2022 UVC Champions, 2023 UVC runners-up and two-time NCAA Division III Tournament participant, garnered one first place vote and is projected to finish third in the UVC Preseason poll with 34 points, while New Paltz, the 2017 and 2019 NCAA Division III National Champion, is picked to finish fourth in the 2024 UVC Preseason poll with 33 points. Nazareth, who was ranked as high as No. 9 nationally and won 20 games last season, earned the final first place vote and is predicted to place fifth in the preseason poll with 28 points.
MIT, who was nationally-ranked and advanced to the UVC semifinals in 2023, is picked to finish sixth, having earned 22 points. First-year program Hobart College received 20 points and is projected to place seventh in the UVC preseason poll voting, while Elmira, who won 13 contests and was also receiving votes in the national poll in 2023, is picked to finish eighth in the 2024 UVC Preseason Poll.
Regular season play begins on Jan. 11-13 and league play begins on Feb. 17. The six-team 2024 UVC Championship will take place from April 12-14 at the site of the regular season champion.
2024 UVC Preseason Poll Results – Points (First Place Votes)
- Vassar – 44 points (4 first place votes)
- NYU – 36 points (2)
- St. John Fisher – 34 points (1)
- New Paltz – 33 points
- Nazareth – 28 points (1)
- MIT – 22 points
- Hobart – 20 points
- Elmira – 7 points
ABOUT THE UNITED VOLLEYBALL CONFERENCE
The members of the United Volleyball Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. For more on the UVC visit
www.theuvc.org.