Volleyball lands at 16th in final AVCA Division III Top-25 poll

The Muskingum volleyball team landed at 16th in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll that was released on Wednesday. The AVCA Division lll Top 25 Poll is selected by Division lll head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions.

The Muskies finished the regular season 16-2 and ended the year with an overall record of 18-3. Muskingum earned the OAC Regular Season Championship outright for the first time since 1999 and notched the top seed in the OAC Tournament. They went on to compete in the championship game losing to #13 Otterbein in a five-set thriller, 3-2.

This season, the Muskies only dropped 15 sets out of the 73 that they played. As a team, Muskingum has tallied 1,025 kills, 936 assists, 1,522 digs, and 126 blocks. They averaged 14.05 kills per set, 12.82 assists per set, and 20.85 digs per set while also registered a .237 hitting percentage in the 2021 spring campaign.

Head Coach Hallie Donathan earned OAC Volleyball Head Coach of the Year honors. This marked the second time she has won this accolade (2018).

Senior Maddie McGee led the Muskies with 268 kills averaging 3.88 kills per set and also grabbed 184 digs. McGee was recently named First Team All-OAC and won OAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week earlier this season.

Senior Erin Dickson logged a team-best 482 assists and averaged 6.89 assists per set, while senior Brooke Fatheree led the team in digs with 356 averaging 4.94 digs per set and notched 133 kills. Fatheree was recently named OAC Volleyball Player of the Year, First Team All-OAC , won OAC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week twice, and earned OAC All-Tournament Team honors along with senior Kaitlin Noble. Dickson was honored with Second Team All-OAC for Muskingum.

Sophomore Emma Dunham was second on the team in kills with 176 averaging 2.51 kills per set and was honored with Second Team All-OAC. Sophomore Gracie Collins notched 217 digs averaging 2.54 digs per set, while sophomore Emma Conrad logged 290 assists averaging 4.03 assists per set.