Last year, the unthinkable happened as Cal State LA went from unranked to national champion, a first in DII women’s volleyball. While the sport has a storied history of repeat champions, there is obviously room for the unknown.
Do any teams have a chance to break into the tournament and make some noise this year? As we head into the final month of the regular season, let’s take a look at some teams that are trying to find their way back to the DII women’s volleyball championship, where they could provide some surprises.
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Barry. Speaking of unthinkable, the Barry Bucs are coming off a massive upset, taking down No. 1 Tampa and handing the Spartans their first loss of the season. It wasn’t simply a win; it was a sweep in straight sets on the road. Prior to that, the Bucs opened the season 8-0 without dropping a set, setting a new program record.
Barry was 11-18 last year, and with the big upset, are already 12-1 this year and up to No. 18 in the national poll. Diana Akopova is making her case for SSC Player of the Year, most recently taking home her third SSC offensive player of the week award. Fun fact: The last time Barry beat Tampa on the road was 2022… the same year the Bucs swept Tampa to advance to the national quarterfinals.
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Grand Valley State. Obviously, one of the biggest storylines of the 2024 season, especially in the Midwest Region, is Ferris State’s 20-0 start. But, not to take anything away from the Bulldogs, they have made it to the Midwest Region final of the DII women’s volleyball championship in each of the past three seasons. The Lakers have not and are on fire right now.
Grand Valley State is 18-1, that one loss coming to those pesky Bulldogs, but have righted the ship and are on a 10-game winning streak. Last year, the Lakers returned to the DII tournament and picked up their first tourney win since 2014. Brianna Stawski has been a leader on this team, already honored with two GLIAC defensive player of the week awards and one offensive player of the week award. The Lakers as a team lead the GLIAC in points, opponents hitting percentage, opponent assists, opponent kills and blocks, with Paige Sanders leading the conference with 1.26 blocks per set — a top-25 mark in DII. They have another shot at Ferris State on Nov. 2 in what should be one of the best matches of the month.
Missouri Western. It is tough to find a spot in the bracket when you are in the Central Region. The NSIC teams dominate that part of the country, and Missouri Western has not seen many appearances in its history. The last time the Griffons were there was 2017, and it was a 14-year hiatus between its previous appearance in 2003.
The 2024 Griffons are doing their best to end that streak of DII tournament absences. They are currently third in the MIAA and jumped into the national rankings at No. 24 in the most recent AVCA top 25. Nessa Johnson has been one of the best setters in the conference, Kyla Randall is among the DII leaders in digs per set (currently No. 5 with 6.08) and Lily Kurz is among the conference and DII leaders in blocks. They also have resume-building victories over Regis, Washburn and current No. 10 Central Oklahoma. They have their work cut out in that Central Region, but at 16-4 and nationally ranked, they seem poised to cause some trouble in November.
Point Loma. The Sea Lions had a historic 2023. They won their first-ever PacWest conference championship, earning them a spot in the DII women’s volleyball championship for just the second time in program history and first since 2015. Unfortunately, the Sea Lions’ season ended there, swept out of the first round.
Apparently, that did not sit well with Point Loma. The Sea Lions are off to a 15-0 start and have the second longest active winning streak in DII. Of course, they have their biggest test of the season still ahead when they face No. 9 Chaminade in November, but this team is looking sensational. Point Loma leads the PacWest in points, opponent hitting percentage, assists and blocks. Abigail Nua leads the conference in kills per set and total points, Sophia Baugh leads in assists per set and Avery Allemann and Anna Massari are Nos. 1 and 2 in blocks. This team is rolling.
Southwest Oklahoma State. The Bulldogs have made one DII women’s volleyball championship tournament in their 19-year history. And to be honest, the winner of the GAC — typically the lone representative from the conference in a loaded Central Region — has to square off against the No. 1 seed on an annual basis, so it’s a daunting task to pull off an upset there.
But it’s still fun to try. The Bulldogs are red hot, winners of eight in a row, including a win over Oklahoma Baptist (which went to the DII tourney last year), Harding (which went to the DII tourney in 2022) and Arkansas Tech (which went in 2021). Lacy Mott is putting her bid in for GAC player of the year, currently leading the conference in kills — which has her No. 12 in DII with 299 — and points, finding herself 25th overall in DII at 4.66 per set.
Spring Hill. The Badgers tested themselves early — and it did not go well. They opened the season against six ranked teams and were heading into conference play sitting at 1-7.
They haven’t lost since. In fact, the Badgers own the SIAC and haven’t lost a conference match since 2018, now winners of 169 conference matches in a row. Coming out of the SIAC, they typically have the dubious honor of being the No. 8 seed in the South, which means a lot of Tampa lately, so they haven’t had much DII tournament success. But we can pretty much pencil in Spring Hill to make the bracket at the beginning of the season, making it an under-the-radar team to always keep tabs on this time of year.