St. Paul, MN -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2025 Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll Wednesday, with the NCU Women's Volleyball team picked sixth overall.The poll is voted on by all head coaches in the conference. Coaches cannot vote for their own team.

2025 UMAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

        1. Northwestern | 35 (5)
        2. UW-Superior | 32 (2)
        3. Minnesota Morris | 26
        4. Bethany Lutheran | 18
        5. Martin Luther | 14
        t6. North Central | 11
        t6. Crown | 11

Top Returners
Maci Tripp, Sr., L | NCCAA DII North Region Second-team | 4.25 digs per set, team leader with 335 total digs
Lexie Semrau, Sr., MH | Totaled 113 kills and 27 blocks in 2024, 10th in UMAC for hitting percentage with .225

Following the release of the preseason poll, the North Central University (NCU) women's volleyball team and first-year head coach Jessica Curry have announced their upcoming 2025 season schedule. Click to see the team's FULL SCHEDULE. 

The 2025 slate features 22 regular season matches, including 10 non-conference matchups, 12 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contests, and 10 regular season home matches. Competition begins on home court as the Rams host the annual Minneapolis Invite on September 5-6, opening with matches against Trinity Bible College (3:00 PM) and Faith Baptist Bible College (7:00 PM) on Friday. They'll return Saturday to face Great Lakes Christian College and Free Lutheran Bible College in a pair of morning contests to wrap up the four-match home tournament weekend.

NCU's next test comes at the Concordia Triangular in Moorhead, MN on Saturday, September 13th, where they'll square off against the University of Wisconsin-Stout and host Concordia College-Moorhead. 

A week later, the Rams head to Ankeny, Iowa for the Faith Baptist Volleyball Classic, a four-match tournament running September 19-20. There, they'll compete in four matches, including an early-season matchup with conference opponent Crown College.

Conference play begins shortly after as the Rams return home for their UMAC opener on Saturday, September 27th, with a doubleheader against Wisconsin-Superior (1:00 PM) and Northwestern (5:00 PM). The Rams will celebrate "Senior Night" on Friday, November 7th against Martin Luther College, before wrapping up regular season play at Bethany Lutheran College the following day.

Postseason competition is set to follow, as the Rams hope to return to the UMAC Postseason Tournament for the second straight season on November 12-15. NCU also has its sights set on a postseason run in the NCCAA, with North Regionals scheduled for November 10-11 and the NCCAA DII National Championships set to begin on November 19th in Joplin, Missouri, hosted by Ozark Christian College.

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on women's volleyball and all things NCU Athletics.