WAYNE – The Wayne State College volleyball team was voted first in the NSIC Coaches Poll for the 2024 preseason released Thursday by the league office in Burnsville, Minnesota.
Veteran Wildcat middle forward Taya Beller was named the NSIC Wildcat Player of the Year this season.
Wayne State received 12 first-place finishes and 194 points in league coaches voting. The ‘Cats captured a second consecutive Northern Sun Conference regular season title last season with a perfect 18-0 league record and finished the 2023 season 31-3 after advancing to the NCAA Elite 8 for the second time in program history after winning the NCAA Central Region title.
Concordia-St. Paul finished second in the preseason coaches poll with 178 points and one first-place vote, followed closely by St. Cloud State in third place with 177 points and the remaining two first-place votes. Southwest Minnesota State (150 points) and Minnesota Duluth (148) rounded out the top five teams, all of which advanced to the NCAA Division II national tournament last season.
Winona State finished sixth with 122 points, followed by Northern State (121), Sioux Falls (110), Minnesota State (89) and Augustana (83) rounding out the top 10 teams.
Beller, a 6-foot-2 right wing/middle attacker from Lindsay, was selected to the Wildcats’ All-NSIC first team three times and was selected to the AVCA and D2CCA All-America first team the past two seasons. Last year, Beller led the Wildcats in kills (3.53) and blocks (1.13) per set and ranked first in the NSIC in blocks and fifth in sets. She was second in the NSIC and 16th nationally in slugging percentage at .381 and ranked second in the NSIC with an average of 4.40 points per set. Beller was the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week three times last season.
Wayne State opens the 2024 season on Thursday, September 5, with a game against Adelphi (NY) in the Eckerd College Tournament in St. Petersburg, Florida, at 6 p.m.
NSIC Preseason 2024
Volleyball coach survey
Team (First Place Votes) Points
1. Wayne State (12) 194
2. Concordia-St. Paul (1) 178
3. St. Cloud State (2) 177
4. SW Minnesota State 150
5. Minnesota-Duluth 148
6. State of Winona 122
7. Northern State 121
8. Sioux Falls 110
9. Minnesota State 89
10. Augustana83
11. State Bemidji 67
12. University of Mary 48
13. MSU-Moorhead 47
14. Minnesota Crookston-27
15. State Minot 14
