It’s a new year for the volleyball landscape, and with that comes new faces, new conference looks and new championships. Michella Chester gave us her take on the hot topics going into the 2023 DI volleyball season.
1. New-look Big 12
Conference realignment has come to the Big 12 to include four more squads. The additions of BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati means that reigning NCAA champ, Texas, will see some sizable competition in the upcoming season. In 2022, UCF (28-2) and Houston (30-4) were both five seeds in the tournament, and Houston advanced all the way to the regional semifinals.
2. Big faces in new places
Many prominent names in the game turned to the transfer portal during this offseason. Penn State saw the most notable shift with the additions of Ohio State transfer Mac Podraza — 2022 Big Ten Setter of the Year — and Jess Mruzik from Michigan; the two have already made the Preseason All-Big Ten Team for 2023. Wisconsin brought on outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara from Northwestern, Texas tacked on Jenna Wenaas from Minnesota and Nebraska got Merritt Beason from Florida. Kylie Murr joined Minnesota for her final year of eligibility after playing four years at Ohio State, where she was the 2022 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and became OSU’s…
