Bryce Hayes
SUWANEE, GA — The TLU women’s volleyball team was chosen to finish in fourth place in the official Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Preseason Coaches Poll as announced by the conference on Monday, Aug. 28.
The Bulldogs were also picked to finish fourth in last year’s preseason poll ahead of their record-breaking season that culminated in TLU’s first SCAC Tournament championship and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. Texas Lutheran would finish second in the regular season with an 11-5 record in SCAC matches.
Trinity, the defending regular season champion and 2022 NCAA National Runner-Up, received seven of the nine available first-place votes while Colorado College received the other two first place votes. The Tigers were picked as SCAC Champion with 79 points in the poll. Colorado College (69) came in second with Southwestern in third at 61 points. The Bulldogs received 49 points in fourth place and St. Thomas followed closely in fifth with 48 points. Austin College (44), Schreiner (23), Dallas (19), and Centenary (13) rounded out the poll.
2023 SCAC VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Trinity (7) – 79
2. Colorado College (2) – 69
3. Southwestern – 61
4. Texas Lutheran – 49
5. St. Thomas – 48
6. Austin College – 44
7. Schreiner – 23
8. Dallas – 19
9. Centenary – 13
The Bulldogs open the 2023 season on the road with matches against Birmingham-Southern and 2022 NCAA Tournament qualifier, No. 15 Wisconsin-Oshkosh, on September 1 and Whitworth on September 2 at Calgaard Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity University in San Antonio. TLU will play its first home match against Huston-Tillotson on Wednesday, September 27. In SCAC play, TLU travels to Georgetown September 23-24, for the first tri-match weekend against Colorado College, Schreiner, and Trinity.
The 2022 season was the most successful season to date under Phyllis Fowler, who was named the SCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in her career, in her fifth season at the helm of the TLU volleyball program. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 27-10 overall record, matching the most in a single-season since Texas Lutheran became an NCAA institution, and appearing in the program’s third NCAA Tournament. After clinching the 2022 SCAC Tournament Championship, Texas Lutheran won its first SCAC Championship and third championship of the NCAA-era, joining the 2004 and 2007 American Southwest Championships. The 2022 season is the first time the Bulldogs have tallied double-digit conference wins since joining the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in the fall of 2013. Lexi Morris added to the Bulldogs’ list of SCAC Backrow Player of the Year winners that includes Megan Lee (2013, ’14), Jaci Chambers (2018), and Morris herself in the 2021 season. Morris became only the second Bulldog in program history to win back-to-back SCAC Backrow Player of the Year honors – joining Lee. Morris also became the first AVCA All-West Region honoree since Texas Lutheran joined the SCAC and first overall since Jessica Stetler in 2010, earning honorable mention honors. Texas Lutheran finished in the top five nationally in total assists (1,584), digs (2,479), total attacks (5,236) and kills (1,698) and top 25 nationally in total blocks and attacks per set as a team while Lexi Morris finished second in Division-III in digs and Madison Weisinger finishes in the top ten in NCAA Division-III in total blocks and block assists.
For more information on Texas Lutheran volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (TLU Volleyball), X (Twitter) (@TLU_VB), and Instagram (@tlu_vb) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on X (Twitter), @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).