2023 W&L Volleyball Season Preview

Generals receive four first-place votes, No. 3 in the ODAC preseason poll

8/28/2023 2:00:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Va. –The thirteen Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) head coaches selected the Washington and Lee University Volleyball team to finish third in the annual preseason poll, the conference announced Monday afternoon.

Following a 19-11 record and a fourth place finish in the conference last season, the Generals received four first-place votes while claiming 127 points to sit in third place heading into the 2023 season. Randolph-Macon College was picked to win the leagues' crown after defeating Averett University last season to claim their first championship since 2017. Virginia Wesleyan University was picked as the runner-ups in this years poll, the Marlins received three first-place votes and tallied 129 to edge the Generals by two points. Averett follows closely behind the Generals in fourth while the Eagles of Bridgewater College round out the top-five.

Head Coach Bryan Snyder '95 enters his 24th season as the head coach of the Generals. The Generals leader has posted a 593-191 (.756) record at W&L while compiling 225 wins in the ODAC. Snyder ranks 13th in active Division III volleyball coaches in wins as he has racked up 634 wins in 25 season while being ranked 20th in winning percentage with a mark of .746.

Bryan Snyder '95

2023 ODAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

Randolph-Macon College (6) 137 pts.
Virginia Wesleyan University (3) 129 pts.
Washington and Lee University (4) 127 pts.
Averett University 115 pts.
Bridgewater College 100 pts.
Roanoke College 81 pts.
University of Lynchburg 77 pts.
Eastern Mennonite University 60 pts.
Guilford College 56 pts.
Shenandoah University 54 pts.
Randolph College 41 pts.
Ferrum College 24 pts.
Hollins University 13 pts

National Poll/ Regional Ranking

Juniata College received 81 of the 86 first-place votes to sit atop of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll after posting a 34-1 record on their way to the 2022 National Title. National Runner-ups, Trinity University was ranked second while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps received three first-place votes to sit in the third spot. New York University followed CMS fourth while the University of Northwestern (Minn.) rounded out the top-five.

Three Generals' opponents were ranked in the preseason poll as Christopher Newport University was ranked No. 21 while the University of Mary Washington was ranked No. 22. The Generals will face the Captains on Sept. 15 and Oct. 21 while taking on the Eagles on Sept. 23. The Blue and White will take on No. 11 Berry College at the end of the season on November 4 at the Emory National Tournament.

The entire AVCA Top-25 can be found HERE.

The preseason has gone well so far. We have enough depth at all positions that we have been able to train at a high intensity level but spread out the workload so that we haven’t had to back off too much. We have been focusing more time on a couple of areas that we felt were weaknesses for us at the beginning of the season in 2022, so hopefully we can start at a higher execution level.

I think our junior and senior classes have done a great job of delivering a consistent message to the rest of the team about our standards and what we need to do to put ourselves in the best position possible to achieve our goals. They have also been a terrific example of both effort and technical/tactical execution in the practice gym, so if a younger player is struggling with something, they can see someone else do it correctly.

The first years are training hard and trying to absorb as much as they can. I think at times they have been a little overwhelmed with the amount of information we have presented to them and the level of detail we are asking them to understand. They have had a great attitude, and they are all making progress in various areas. I think several of them can play some specific roles for us this year, and all of them will make our practice environment more competitive.

I think we are all excited to travel together and play some other teams, but honestly, we haven’t been focused on that. I think this group has done a terrific job of coming to the gym every session with the mentality of getting better, and not just trying to get through practices so we can get to our first matches. The excitement level will probably increase drastically once we finish practice on Thursday morning and get on the bus that afternoon.

Head Coach Bryan Snyder (24th Season)

Schedule Preview

The Generals 2023 campaign kicks off in Gettysburg, Pa. as they will play in the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic on Sept. 1 & 2. Their opening match is against York College (Pa.) at 5 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. primetime matchup against Gettysburg on Friday, Sept. 1. The Blue and White return to action the next day with games against Penn State Mont Alto at 1 p.m. and Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) at 3 p.m.

Washington and Lee kicks off the season at Holekamp Gymnasium on Sept. 8 & 9 as they host the annual W&L Invitational. On Friday, Sept. 8, the Generals will take on Maryville College at 4:30 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. matchup against Susquehanna University. The Blue and White return to action the following morning as they take on Marymount University at 11 a.m. followed by a 4 p.m. matchup with Southern University.

The Generals have a three-game home stand following the tournament as they take on Eastern Mennonite University on Sept. 12 in their ODAC opener. No. 21 Christopher Newport makes the trip to Lexington on Friday, Sept. 15 for a 6 p.m. top-25 matchup with the Generals. Hollins University caps off the home stand as they battle the Generals at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 19.

The Generals seven game road trip starts on Sept. 23 as they travel to Fredericksburg, Va. for another top-25 matchup against No. 22 University of Mary Washington before taking on five ODAC opponents including the league's preseason favorite, Randolph-Macon on Oct. 4. The Blue and White cap off the road trip with a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Salisbury University on Oct. 7.

Washington and Lee returns to Holekamp for a three game slate against ODAC competition. On Oct. 13, the Generals take on Guilford College before taking on Averett University on Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. Bridgewater College comes to Lexington on Oct. 18 for a 7 p.m. matchup.

The Blue and White head to Newport News, Va. for a tri-match at Christopher Newport University. The Generals will face Swarthmore College at 1 p.m. before taking on No. 21 CNU for the second time at 3 p.m.

The Generals will host their own tri-match as they will take on ODAC foe Shenandoah University at 11 a.m. on Oct. 28 before taking on Eastern University at 4 p.m. W&L closes out ODAC play as they travel to Salem, Va. for a 7 p.m. matchup with Roanoke College on Tuesday, Oct. 31.

Prior to the start of postseason play, the Generals will travel south to Emory, Ga. for the Emory National Invitational. On Friday, Nov. 3, the Generals will take on Berea College (Ky.) at 2 p.m. before taking on No. 11 Berry College (Ga.) at 10 a.m while closing out the tournament the following day as they take on Maryville College at 2:30 p.m.

The ODAC Tournament is set to start on Tuesday, Nov. 7 while the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament is set to being on Nov. 16.

To view the entire W&L women's volleyball schedule, click HERE.

Key Returners

Junior Allie Buchholz looks to step into a key role as one of the Generals setters. Last season, Buchholz played in 121 sets and 30 matches while dishing out 58 assists and recording 269 digs. The Portland, Ore. native recorded a season-high 13 assists against Hollins while posting 18 digs against Randolph-Macon. Buccholz has played in 231 career sets and 64 matches, during that time she has dished out 228 assists while recording 545 digs with 2.36 per set. She has recorded 63 service aces including a career-high 33 last season for the Blue and White.

Outside Hitter Riley Debiec looks to build off her successful rookie campaign for the Blue and White this season. The Sophomore Potomac, Md. native played in 116 sets and 29 matches for the Generals last season, compiling 207 kills which ranked third on the team. She averaged 1.78 kills per set with a .241 percentage. Debiec recorded a career-high 14 kills against Shenandoah last season.

Sophomore Lillie Holcomb is also looking to build off the success she had in her first season at W&L. An outside hitter from Greensboro, N.C. played in 115 sets last season and 29 matches for the Blue and White. The Sophomore recorded the second most kills on the team with 235 while averaging 2.04 kills per set. She posted a career-high 17 kills against Maryville (Tenn.) last season.

On the Court: Sydney Heifner returns for her final season for W&L and looks to build off the success she had last season. The Nashville, Tenn. native was named an AVCA All-American while being selected to the All-ODAC and All-Region First Teams. In her junior season, Heifner recorded 454 kills with 3.69 kills per set. She posted two season highs against Randolph-Macon as she recorded 27 kills while accumulating 29 points. In her season, she has played in 76 matches for the Blue and White while recording 924 kills in 276 sets for a 3.35 kills per set.

Off the Court: Heifner, a business administration major, is involved with the Mock Convention as the Director of Sales as well as being a member of the Williams Investment Society. She worked for Prothro Clark Company as a Research Analyst while working at Deutsche Bank during the 2023 summer.

On the Court: Avery Myers returns to the court for her junior season and looks to help lead the Generals back to the top of the ODAC. Last season, Myers played in 87 sets and 25 matches while recording 164 kills. The Outside hitter from New York, N.Y. posted 1.89 kills per set for a .132 average. Last season, Myers posted a season-high 16 kills against Randolph-Macon and nine digs against Averrett. Over her career, she has played in 160 sets and 53 matches while tallying 283 kills with 1.77 kills per set. Myers has played a major role on defense, recording 172 digs in her career with 1.07 digs per set.

Off the Court: Myers is studying Business Administration and spent the summer working at Veronica Beard, a retail company, based in New York City. She is also a member of the Generals Leadership Academy as well as the Delta Society Standards Board.

On the Court: Outside hitter Maddie Weller looks to contribute to the Generals success this season as she returns for her junior season.Last season, Weller played in 76 sets and 25 matches while recording a career-high 112 digs with 1.47 digs per set. In addition to her defense, Weller also posed a threat on offense as she recorded 46 kills, a new career-high. During her time at W&L, Weller has played in 142 sets and 50 matches and has recorded 73 kills and 187 digs.

Off the Court: Weller, a Economics major, has been named an Academic All-ODAC and W&L Scholar Athlete twice while being named to the President's List in 2022-23.

Vivi Vasquez