Big Red Favored in NCAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

CLEVELAND, OH – Defending North Coast Athletic Conference champion Denison has been selected to repeat as the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champion according to balloting of the league's volleyball coaches.
 
The Big Red earned six of the possible eight first-place votes and totaled 59 points to top the 2025 preseason poll. Ohio Wesleyan claimed one first-place vote and 51 points to finish second, while John Carroll placed third with 48 points, narrowly edging out Wittenberg, which received the final first-place vote and 47 points for fourth. DePauw followed in fifth with 35 points, while Oberlin (19), Kenyon (15), and Wooster (14) rounded out the eight-team field.
 
Ninth-year head coach Carter Cassell and assistants Jenna Corrao and Lindsay Miracle were named the NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year a season ago. The trio return four all-conference performers from a team that went 6-1 in NCAC play. Junior outside hitter Claire Hamilton (Lower Merion, PA/Lower Merion) returns to the floor after being named first-team all-conference, improving on her second-team selection in 2023. Hamilton led the NCAC in total kills in 2024 with 384 and ranked third in both points (421) and points per set (3.67). Senior setter Alice Kempf (Louisville, KY/Sacred Heart Academy) also returns after earning first-team all-conference honors in 2024, elevating from third-team recognition in 2023. Kempf led the league with 965 assists, averaging 9.10 per set, and added 314 digs to rank ninth in the NCAC with 2.96 digs per set (11th). Joining Hamilton and Kempf are junior outside hitter Ayla Dunbar (Ann Arbor, MI/Skyline) and junior right-side hitter Maeve Perry (Indianapolis, IN/Brébeuf Jesuit Preparatory School). Dunbar earned second-team all-conference honors in 2024 after ranking third in the league in kills per set (2.85) and fourth in total kills (288), while also recording 36 aces (ninth) and 229 digs (22nd). Perry concluded her sophomore season with third-team all-conference honors, finishing 21st in kills (167), 23rd in hitting percentage (.162), and 25th in points (184).

The 2025 volleyball season begins August 29th, with all eight conference teams competing in non-conference action, while the first NCAC matchups will take place on September 27th with Wooster at Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan at John Carroll, Wittenberg at Denison, and DePauw at Oberlin.
 
2025 North Coast Athletic Conference
Volleyball Coaches' Poll
Place Institution (1st Place Votes) Total Points
1 Denison (6) 59
2 Ohio Wesleyan (1) 51
3 John Carroll 48
4 Wittenberg (1) 47
5 DePauw 35
6 Oberlin 19
7 Kenyon 15
8 Wooster 14

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: