Rio Grande No. 2 in RSC preseason volleyball poll

OXFORD, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande has been picked second in the 2025 River States Conference Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll.

The poll, announced by the River States Conference office, saw each of the conference's 12 head coaches rank the other member schools in order of predicted finish.

The RedStorm earned two first place votes and 109 points in the balloting. Head coach Billina Donaldson's squad won the East Division title last season and were the No. 2 seed in the RSC Tournament.

Indiana University Kokomo is the favorite to return to the top of the league, garnering the remaining 10 first-place nods and 120 points.

The Cougars won the 2024 RSC regular season title, earning an automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament.

IUK then won its Opening Round match in the NAIA Tournament, advancing the final site in Sioux City, Iowa. The Cougars enter the season as winners of 38 straight regular season matches in conference play.

Indiana University East, the reigning RSC Tournament champions, placed third in the poll (102 pts.), with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (90 pts.) and Shawnee State University (74 pts.) rounding out the top five.

The remainder of the poll saw Indiana University Southeast sixth (68 pts.)to finish out the top half of the ranking, followed by WVU Tech (53 pts.), Oakland City University (48 pts.) and Midway University (46 pts.) in positions 7-9, with Indiana University Columbus (43 pts.) 10th, Brescia University 11th (28 pts.) and league newcomer Kentucky Christian University in 12th with 11 pts.

More than half of the River States Conference will begin play for the 2025 season on the first allowable date, Friday, Aug. 15.

The first conference match, which will see the Pomeroys of St. Mary-of-the-Woods visit the Mighty Oaks of Oakland City, is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 9. Conference play will continue through the first week of November, with the conference tournament to follow.