The UVC's success was highlighted by those teams a year ago, but it certainly wasn't limited to just the teams at the top. As a whole, the UVC had four 20-win teams in 2013, with nine teams winning at least 14 matches and finishing above .500 overall.  

Those facts, coupled with the excitement surrounding the returning stars and bright new faces have campu

ses across the conference eagerly anticipating the start of 

the season. As the action begins, another action-packed spring of UVC volleyball is sure to transpire.

New to the League

MIT, who has been an independent team for the past two seasons, joins the UVC for the 2014 season. Over the past ten years, MIT has compiled a ledger of 245-95, which features nine straight 20-win seasons. The Engineers have maintained a regular presence in the AVCA Top 15 Poll, as they own a current streak of 37 consecutive weeks in the rankings.

Nazareth opens the 2014 season as the favorite to claim the league title. The Golden Flyers received 10 of 12 first-place votes and 119 total points to headline the 2014 UVC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Nazareth will have to do without EJ Wells-Spicer, the 2013 Division III Player of the Year and four other seniors lost to graduation. But it is the consistent strength and depth of the Nazareth roster over the years that the UVC coaches continue to expect in full force that has given the Golden Flyers the preseason edge.
 
New Paltz returns the entirety of its starting lineup from last year, so its no surprise to see their name listed second with 105 points and one first place vote. Stevens came in third with 90 points and one first place vote, narrowly edging out New York University and MIT who are tied for fourth place with 89 points.
 
Elmira College (69 points) is predicted to finish in the middle of the pack again along with Medaille (60 points) and Vassar (60 points). Penn State-Behrend (42) is one again tabbed in the ninth spot, while D'Youville (31), Bard (22) and Hilbert (16) complete the preseason poll.
 
Who's New to the Coaching front?
The UVC remains a stable group of head coaches with only one new face to the crowd, Bard's Stefanie Carrington. Carrington comes to Bard from Dominican College, an NCAA Div. II school, where she was the Head Women's Volleyball coach for the last five years.
 
Stevens' Patrick Dorywalski is starting his 28^th season with the Ducks and joins NYU's Jose Pina (20^th) and D'Youville's John Hutton (18^th) as the UVC veteran coaches.
 
Wickens, a ten year coach, is one of four who has been in his current role for at least five seasons. Joining Wickens is Medaille's Keith Koch (10th), MIT's Paul Dill (10^th) and New Paltz's Radu Petrus (9^th).  Hilbert's William Shultz begins his fourth season, while Penn State-Behrend's Phil Pisano and Vassar's Robert Wolter are entering their third season and Steven England is in his second year at the helm of Elmira College.
 
Who's back?
Nazareth is coming off a 36-2 season in which they finished as the national runner-up.  Luke Lawatsch, a middle blocker, was a first-team All-American selection in 2013 after ranking second nationally with a .483 hitting percentage (226-55-354). He also led the Golden Flyers in blocks with 87 (0.98 per set). Tim Zyburt, an outside hitter, was a second-team All-American in 2013 after producing a team-high 330 kills (2.95 per set) to go with a solid .324 hitting percentage. Grant Levermore, an outside hitter, was second on the team with 287 hills (2.79 per set) and also totaled 25 service aces and 136 digs.
 
New Paltz outside hitter Tim Ferriter gained much acclaim after a standout season, earning First-Team All-America and First-Team All-UVC honors. He was also named the AVCA Men's NCAA Division III Newcomer of the Year and the UVC Rookie of the Year. Middle blocker Christopher Husmann, setter John Lutjen and setter/right side Christian Smith also gained recognition from the league, earning Honorable Mention All-UVC honors. Statistically, the team led NCAA Division III in assists per set (12.82) in spite of the fact that it ran a 6-2 offense with two newcomers serving as setters.
 
Outside hitter Ryan Seifert and setter Kevin Aeckerle led Stevens to a 25-10 mark in 2013 and a trip to the NCAA DIII Championship last spring as an at-large team. In 85 sets played last year, Seifert ranked first on the team in points per set (4.18) and kills per set (3.48). He was second in points with 355, kills at 296, service aces with 21 and digs per set at 1.66.  Aeckerle was the team's primary distributor in the "6-2" lineup and handed out 1,090 assists in 109 sets played for an average of 10 assists per set. He added 134 digs, 23 total blocks and 15 aces to his 2013 season.
 
NYU returns 14 of its 16 players next season, and will look to build upon a season where five of its top six team leaders in kills were freshmen. However, eyes will be on veteran returners Connor Mortland and Nick Capriccio. Mortland led the team in assists (759) and assists per game (10.12), while also finishing third with 124 digs. Capriccio led the team in sets played (86) and total blocks (64), while finishing third with 201.5 total points.
 
Brendan Chang was the first freshman and libero at MIT to earn All-America honors. On the strength of his Institute-record 446 digs, he ranked second in the country in digs and digs per set (3.35). As the Engineers' primary passer, Chang generated a .950 reception percentage as he committed 29 reception errors in 584 attempts.  Paul Syta was sixth in the nation in assists per set (10.13) while establishing the MIT record for assists in a season with 1,216. He finished second on the team in digs (256) and third in aces (24) and blocks (56).
Last season the Soaring Eagles went 19-16 with a 6-5 mark in the UVC, peaking at No. 11 in the nation. Michael Vellutato finished the 2013 season fourth in the nation in assists per set at 10.15.
 
All-conference second teamer Trevor Barrett is back to write the final chapter in his career at Medaille. The middle blocker totaled 373 kills to go with 27 aces and 62 blocks.
 
While the Vassar roster features seven freshmen, the Brewers also return two of their top three kill leaders. Reno Kriz ranked second on the team in kills per set (2.64) and led the team with 22 aces. Joe Pyne was third in kills per set (2.63) and second in digs (173).
 
Tyler Karl and Nathan Steele return to lead Penn State-Behrend in 2014. Karl was dominant defensively at the net, ranking 18th nationally in blocks per set (0.96). Steele had double-figure kills in 12 matches as he compiled 2.78 kills per set
Alex Johnson was the primary passer for D'Youville as he totaled 293 digs (2.66 per set) to rank second in the conference.
 
Outside hitter Billy Williams and setter Henry Kasiske will team up again in 2014 for the Bard Raptors. Kasiske dished out 711 assists last year, while Williams averaged 2.84 points per set.
 
Adam Weaver was credited with 311 kills in the 72 sets played during Hilbert College's 2013 season. His 4.32 kills per set led the sixty-one Division III programs in the country. Weaver also led Hilbert in service aces (31) and points per set (4.97).
 
Circle these dates
The UVC Playoffs will be held on the campus of the highest seed based with the quarterfinals and semifinals slated for April 12 and the championship on April 13.
 
 
2014 United Volleyball Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
1.   Nazareth College (10 first place votes)                              119 points
2.   New Paltz (1)                                                                     105
3.   Stevens Institute of Technology (1)                                   90
4.   New York University                                                         89
5.   Massachusetts Institute of Technology                              89
6.   Elmira                                                                                 69
7.   Medaille                                                                              60
8.   Vassar                                                                                 60
9.   Penn State-Behrend                                                           42
10. D'Youville                                                                          31
11. Bard                                                                                    22
12. Hilbert                                                                                16