Women's Volleyball Finishes Fourth In SLIAC Preseason Poll

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) released the Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll and the Griffins are picked to finish fourth.

Greenville University, the reigning SLIAC Champions, hold the top spot with 45 points and four first place votes. They're followed by Westminster with 44 points and three first place votes, while Webster comes in third with 40 points and one first place vote.

Fontbonne finished fourth in the SLIAC last year after going 10-16 and 6-6 in conference play. Fontbonne hosted Webster in the SLIAC Quarterfinals, but the Gorloks came away with the straight set win.

This year, first year head coach Jimmy Stika will have a veteran roster at his disposal as the Griffins return all four of its All-Conference selections from a season ago.

Jadyn Fitzgerald is back after being named to the SLIAC First Team where she set new career-highs with 282 kills, 241 digs, and 28 blocks. Kristen Kaempfe, who was one of two players named to the Second Team, stood out in her freshman campaign with 222 kills, 159 digs, and 35 blocks.

Setter Ella Werner-Click joined Kaempfe on the Second Team after posting a career-high 831 assists, 53 kills, 28 service aces, 220 digs, and 18 blocks. She led the conference with 8.75 assists per set.

Defensively, the Griffins bring back Emma Pramik who collected a career-high 408 digs and led the conference with 227 digs placing her on the Third Team.

The Griffins also return the likes of Hannah Gallagher and Jordan Harpel who had 161 and 107 kills, respectively. Harpel led Fontbonne at the net with 49 blocks, while Gallagher was third on the team with 2.21 digs per set.

Fontbonne welcomes in nine newcomers in Payton Siebert, Maura Oge, Autumn Blake, Emma Harrop, Amaya Earls, Bella Janda, Morgan Horrell, Kiya Kolb, and Kellie Overturf.

The Griffins get the 2022 season underway next Thursday at home when they'll host WashU. First-service at 7 p.m.

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu.

Make sure to follow the women's volleyball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter(@FontbonneV), Instagram (@fontbonnewvb) and Facebook (/LadyGriffsVB).