College volleyball rankings: 2023 Preseason Power 10

We tracked the biggest impact transfers during the offseason here, and a lot of them had a huge impact on these rankings. 

Granted, these are still preseason rankings and there are SO many factors come season that we have yet to find out. New coaches, new teams that we have yet seen mesh together. Not to mention — freshmen. You never know who the next Mimi Colyer of 2022 will be. With that being said, these are my preseason Power 10 DI women’s volleyball rankings — based on last season’s performance, returning players, transfers, etc. 

1. Texas

At preseason No. 1, I have the reigning national champions — Texas. Yes, even with the loss of 2022 AVCA Player of the Year, Logan Eggleston. This should not undermine the impact that Eggleston had on that program. She did indeed lead that team to the national championship last season. Putting them at preseason No. 1 doesn’t guarantee anything, of course. But, this team still has a TON of talent returning, AND picked up some out of the transfer portal to attempt to fill the holes they lost. Asjia O’Neal returns as arguably one of the strongest middle blockers in the nation. Madi Skinner returns to lead the offense and looks for her THIRD national title. Molly Phillips is back and continues to be strong asset to the team, and Bella Bergmark showed in the 2022 tournament that she is the real deal last season. I think we can expect to see a lot more from her this season. Then on top of that, the Longhorns brought in Jenna Wenaas out of the transfer portal from Minnesota. Wenaas was one of the main offensive players for the Gophers last season, averaging 2.40 kills per set. I think we can expect an immediate impact from her for the Longhorns. 

2. Wisconsin

The Badgers have a strong roster entering the 2023 season. They return almost the entirety of their team, with the exception of Danielle Hart and Jade Demps. Anna Smrek, Devyn Robinson, Izzy Ashburn, Caroline Crawford, Sarah Franklin, Gulce Guctekin and Julia Orzol return. Franklin is TBD for the season, though, as she underwent surgery this summer associated with blood clots. Here is the announcement from the team: 

Either way, I still feel confident putting Wisconsin at No. 2, and here’s why. They added hard-hitting Temi-Thomas Ailara from Northwestern to the roster. Ailara led the entire Big Ten with 502 kills last season for the Wildcats, and is easily one of the most dangerous hitters in the nation. They ALSO added Carter Booth from Minnesota, and she could be huge for the Badgers as well. Those are two key pieces added on to an already strong lineup. 

3. Stanford

Stanford Volleyball

I have Stanford volleyball all the way up at No. 3 and a REALLY good feeling about this team this season. The Cardinal return their entire lineup — including Kendall Kipp for a fifth year. Kipp contributed 5.37 points per set last season and over four kills per set. She joins last year’s team consisting of Caitie Baird, Sami Francis, Elia Rubin, Kami Miner and Elena Oglive. This is the very team that just barely missed out on the national semifinals last season, losing a heartbreaker five-set matchup to San Diego in the 2022 regional finals. I had picked them to advance to the national semifinals, and I feel strongly about them this season, too. Especially after last year’s success and a summer of playing abroad as a team. 

4. Louisville

The 2022 national runner ups come in at No. 4 in my preseason Power 10. Louisville did lose Claire Chaussee and Amaya Tillman, which are pretty considerable losses. But, they added Charite Luper on top of a stacked lineup as Anna DeBeer will be back and at full strength after missing a large portion of the 2022 season with a knee injury. Aiko Jones has another year as a redshirt senior, PK Kong is back after going off in the national semifinals last season and Elena Scott will continue to anchor the back court. 

5. Nebraska

Let’s go with the Nebraska Huskers at No. 5. The Huskers finished last season at No. 9 in the final AVCA poll, but with San Diego, Pitt, Oregon and Ohio State dropping a little bit, I moved Nebraska into the five-spot. Whitney Lauenstein will not be with the team, and Madi Kubik is a pretty big loss offensively. But, Lindsey Krause, Bekka Allick, and the addition of Merritt Beason from Florida will be huge offensively. Not to mention, Lexi Rodriguez, of course. This has been a young team for the past few years that will now come into this season with a seasoned core. Beason will be a great addition as well — the now junior helped the Gators win a share of the SEC Championship by averaging 3.35 kills per set with a .261 hitting percentage in her sophomore season. 

6. Pittsburgh

Coming in at No. 6, Pittsburgh. The Panthers are coming off of two fantastic seasons with back-to-back trips to the national semifinals. They deserve some credit for that, even if they lost some talent from last season. A lot of people probably said the same before last year, and then the addition of Courtney Buzzerio led them to another national semifinal trip. Buzzerio did account for the majority of their offense, so losing her and Serena Gray is a pretty big loss. But they still return Rachel Fairbanks, Chiamaka Nwokolo and Valeria Vasquez Gomez. 

7. Minnesota 

The Gophers enter the 2023 season as my preseason No. 7 team, though I will admit I considered putting them a little higher. They did lose Jenna Wenaas, though, and will have a new coach to start the season, so there could be some adjustment time. The Gophers will be led by Taylor Landfair, the 2022 Big Ten Player of the year who can take over a match on her own. They bring back Melani Shaffmaster and McKenna Wucherer as well, who was second to Landfair in scoring last season despite missing some time in the beginning of the year. On top of that, they added a really big asset in Kylie Murr from Ohio State at libero. 

8. Penn State

At No. 8, I moved Penn State into my preseason Power 10 due to the plethora of talent added during the offseason out of the transfer portal. The Nittany Lions completely revamped their lineup with multiple transfers, but the two biggest standouts are Mac Podraza and Jess Mruzik. Podraza is arguably the best setter and playmaker in the country, and Mruzik will be the big arm needed to replace Kash Williams. This is going to be a pretty new team though as new players mix in with the returners, and I am excited to see how fast they are able to start generating success. 

9. Oregon

Oregon had a really strong campaign and run in the 2022 tournament. They come into the season still in my Power 10 but dropped a little with the big loss of Brooke Nuneviller. I still feel really confident about this team, though. Especially considering the fact that they return the 2022 National Freshman of the Year, Mimi Coyler, and they brought in a big transfer at middle blocker in Kara McGhee. McGhee put up some of the best middle blocker numbers in the country for Baylor last season, ranking in the top 10 nationally with 1.49 blocks per set. 

10. Florida

I had a tough time with the last spot, considering teams like San Diego and Ohio State and even Kentucky out of the SEC. But, San Diego and OSU did lose almost the entirety of their teams from last season, so I would like to see them this year before moving them in. Kentucky was a close matchup with Florida, but the Gators ended last year a little higher and bring back some great players and a strong transfer. The Gators return have Alexis Stucky, who turned a ton of heads last season, Sofia Victoria, Elli McKissock at libero, Gabby Essix, and added Anna Dixon from Missouri, a really strong hitter.

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