The UMSL Tritons women’s volleyball team went 34-2 last year and won their second straight NCAA Midwest Regional championship. (Photo: Cedric Williams)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The University of Missouri-St. Louis women’s volleyball team has been picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the 2024 season, which will begin in just over two weeks.
The annual GLVC Women’s Volleyball Preseason Poll was voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches and was released publicly on Wednesday.
UMSL is coming off perhaps its best season in school history. The Tritons went 34-2 last year, which included a 13-0 mark in GLVC play, and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the country.
Also included in those school-record 34 wins was UMSL hosting and winning the NCAA Midwest Regionals — the team’s second straight regional championship — and a trip to the NCAA Tournament national semifinals, where it lost to eventual national champion Cal State-L.A.
Lewis, which defeated UMSL in the GLVC Tournament championship game, was picked to win the conference regular season title after receiving six first-place votes in the poll and 161 total points. The Tritons had four first-place votes and 154 points, while Rockhurst also had four first-place votes and 148 points to come in third.
Quincy and Indianapolis finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to round out the top five. Maryville, Missouri S&T, Upper Iowa, and McKendree made up the middle of the poll, with Illinois-Springfield, Southwest Baptist, Drury, William Jewell, and Truman State bringing up the bottom five.
This year’s Tritons return two starters from last year, including the 2023 GLVC Player of the Year, Caitlin Bishop. The junior setter from Lansing, Kan., led the GLVC and all of NCAA Division II in total assists with 1,525 and was second in the country with her 12.50 assists per set.
UMSL opens the 2024 schedule on September 6-7 with four matches in Jackson, Tenn., at the Union Volleyball Classic. The Tritons take on Carson-Newman in the season opener at 12 p.m. that Friday and then will take on host Union at 6 p.m. that evening.
The following weekend, UMSL will travel to Denver for the Premiere Challenge co-hosted by Regis and Metro State. The Tritons will face last year’s NCAA Tournament runner-up West Texas A&M and Regis in pool play on September 13 and then will move into bracket play on Saturday.
UMSL will host its home opener on September 20, when it will take on McKendree in a GLVC league match at 6 p.m. Conference play will conclude November 16, when the Tritons host Drury at the Mark Twain Building.
The GLVC Championship Tournament will be played November 22-24 at the Williamsville Fieldhouse in Williamsville, Ill. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
2024 UMSL TRITONS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6, 2024 (Friday) | 12 p.m. | Neutral | Carson-Newman | Jackson, Tenn. / Fred DeLay Gymnasium | Union Volleyball Classic |
| September 6, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Union | Jackson, Tenn. / Fred DeLay Gymnasium | Union Volleyball Classic |
| September 7, 2024 (Saturday) | 10 a.m. | Neutral | Limestone | Jackson, Tenn. / Fred DeLay Gymnasium | Union Volleyball Classic |
| September 7, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Neutral | Harding | Jackson, Tenn. / Fred DeLay Gymnasium | Union Volleyball Classic |
| September 13, 2024 (Friday) | 11 a.m. (CDT) | Neutral | West Texas A&M | Denver, Colo. / Regis Field House | Colorado Premiere Challenge |
| September 13, 2024 (Friday) | 7 p.m. (CDT) | Away | Regis | Denver, Colo. / Regis Field House | Colorado Premiere Challenge |
| September 14, 2024 (Saturday) | TBD | Neutral | TBD | Denver, Colo. | Colorado Premiere Challenge |
| September 14, 2024 (Saturday) | TBD | Neutral | TBD | Denver, Colo. | Colorado Premiere Challenge |
| September 20, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | McKendree | Mark Twain Building | |
| September 21, 2024 (Saturday) | 4 p.m. | Home | Maryville | Mark Twain Building | |
| September 27, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Rockhurst | Kansas City, Mo. / Mason-Halpin Gymnsaium | |
| September 28, 2024 (Saturday) | 4 p.m. | Away | William Jewell | Liberty, Mo. / Mabee Center | |
| October 5, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | McKendree | Lebanon, Ill. / Melvin Price Convocation Center | |
| October 11, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Lewis | Mark Twain Building | |
| October 12, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Indianapolis | Mark Twain Building | |
| October 18, 2024 (Friday) | TBD | Neutral | Midwest Region Crossover | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex | MIDWEST REGIONAL VOLLEYBALL CROSSOVER |
| October 19, 2024 (Saturday) | TBD | Neutral | Midwest Region Crossover | Hammond, Ind. / Hammond Sportsplex | MIDWEST REGIONAL VOLLEYBALL CROSSOVER |
| October 25, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Maryville | Chesterfield, Mo. / Moloney Arena | |
| October 26, 2024 (Saturday) | 5 p.m. | Away | Missouri S&T | Rolla, Mo. / Gibson Arena | |
| November 1, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Truman State | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Upper Iowa | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 8, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Quincy | Quincy, Ill. / Pepsi Arena | |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Away | Illinois Springfield | Springfield, Ill. / TRAC | |
| November 15, 2024 (Friday) | 6 p.m. | Home | Southwest Baptist | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 16, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Drury | Mark Twain Building | |
| November 22, 2024 (Friday) | TBD | Neutral | GLVC Tournament | TBD | GLVC Tournament |
| December 5, 2024 (Thursday) | TBD | Neutral | NCAA Midwest Regional | TBD | NCAA Midwest Regional |
| December 12, 2024 (Thursday) | TBD | Neutral | NCAA Championships | Sioux Falls, S.D. / Sanford Pentagon | NCAA Championships |