Valley City, N.D. (VCSU) – The Valley City State volleyball team has been selected to finish fourth in the North Star Athletic Association Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the conference office announced Monday. The Vikings received 36 votes in the poll.

The Vikings finished with a 14-18 overall record and went 8-6 in conference play last season. VCSU made a run to the NSAA Semifinals in the postseason tournament, falling to Viterbo who went on to win the NSAA Tournament title.

VCSU will kick off the 2022 season at home against MSU-Northern on Thursday, Aug. 18. The Vikings also open conference play at home, hosting Dickinson State on Wednesday, Sept. 14. All NSAA members will play a 14-match conference schedule with seven matches at home and seven matches on the road.

For the first time in eight years, Bellevue is the preseason favorite to win the NSAA volleyball title.

The Bruins collected five first-place votes and 61 points to claim the top spot in the conference poll.  Bellevue went 26-8 overall last season and 11-3 in the conference.  BU advanced to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament quarterfinals round before falling to Jamestown.

Viterbo finished second in the preseason poll after collecting the remaining three first-place votes and 59 points.

VU swept the NSAA regular-season and tournament titles in 2021 and qualified for the national tournament.  Viterbo went 1-1 in the national tournament’s pool play and did not advance to the bracket play, completing their astounding season with an overall record of 39-2 and a perfect 14-0 league record.

Dakota State was picked to finish third in the conference preseason poll with 47 points.  The Trojans went 21-9 overall record last season and fell short in the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament’s Opening Round.

Three NSAA teams were listed in the final NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 national poll last season, led by Viterbo at No. 7 followed by Bellevue at No. 9 and Dakota State in the receiving votes category.

Valley City State edged Mayville State by one point to finish fourth (36-35).  Presentation was sixth with 19 points, followed by Waldorf in seventh with 17 points, and Dickinson State eighth with 14 points.

The conference season officially kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 14 with traveling partners playing each other.  Bellevue visits Dakota State, Dickinson State travels to Valley City State, Waldorf host Viterbo, and Presentation welcomes Mayville State.

The top six teams will qualify for the North Star conference postseason tournament on Nov. 11-12.  The postseason tournament is scheduled to take place at the Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D.

The NSAA postseason tournament’s champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Tournament, which is scheduled for Nov. 19 at campus sites.

The national tournament’s opening round winners will move on to the final site at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.  There will be a new format for the final site of the national tournament, where the teams will have a ‘rest’ day.  The pool play begins on Nov. 30 and continues through Dec. 2 (each team in each pool will play two matches).  The single elimination bracket play opens on Dec. 3, with semifinals set for Dec. 5 and the championship match on Dec. 6.

Below is the complete list of the 2022 NSAA Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll below: