Volleyball Picked 11th in Preseason Poll

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern will enter the 2023 season playing the underdog role after being picked to finish 11^th in the Great American Conference Preseason Volleyball Poll released on Thursday afternoon.
 
Head coach Nicole Solum-Mitchell returns to guide the program for a fifth season after finishing the 2022 season with a 4-25 record and a 1-15 mark in league play with a 12^th place finish.
 
The Savage Storm picked up 19 points in the poll and finished ahead of Arkansas-Monticello who was picked 12^th and directly behind Southern Arkansas in 10^th.
 
Harding picked up nine of the 12 first-place votes and took the top spot in the poll, while Oklahoma Baptist was second with two first place nods.
 
Southwestern Oklahoma State was third in the poll, ahead of Ouachita Baptist who picked up the remaining first place vote., while Southern Nazarene rounded out the top five.
 
Arkansas Tech checked in sixth, with East Central and Northwestern Oklahoma State tying for seventh, followed by Henderson State in ninth.
 
Southeastern returns D'Nari Mills who was an all-conference selection a season ago, while also returning Ruthie Forson who has a pair of all-conference honors in her career.
 
The Storm will return seven other players who saw starting action a season ago.
 
There should be plenty of competition for playing time as SE will also welcome eight newcomers to the roster for the 2023 season.
 
Southeastern is set to open the 2023 season on Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. in Billings, Mont., versus Minot State in the Yellowjacket Volleyball Invitational, and will face its first home action on Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. versus Drury in Bloomer Sullivan Gymnasium.