George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
American
Volleyball Starts 2023 Campaign at American, Howard
8/24/2023 10:01:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
WASHINGTON – GW volleyball will begin its 2023 season with two matches in Washington, D.C., visiting American on Friday for a 6 p.m. first serve and Howard on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.
ABOUT LAST YEAR
In Head Coach Katie Reifert's first year on the sideline, GW finished the season 18-15 overall and 11-7 in conference play, which included a semifinal appearance at the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship.
During the regular season, GW finished among the top five in five different statistical categories in the A-10: points (4th), assists (5th), kills (5th), blocks (1st) and digs (3rd). GW returns 12 letterwinners from last season, including conference honorees MC Daubendiek and Liv Womble, who received Second Team honors. Womble finished the campaign with a career-high and team-leading 358 kills and Daubendiek finished her sophomore season with 269 kills.
NEW ADDITIONS
This offseason, the Buff & Blue welcomed five newcomers: Grace Wiczek, Loukia Papadakos, NiMya Maruska, Haylee Brown and Kelsey Watkins. Watkins and Wiczek will be graduate students for GW, while Papadakos, Maruska and Brown are first-years.
THE OPPONENTS
American's roster is highlighted by graduate student Zeynep Uzen, who leads the Eagles as a three-time All-Patriot League First Team selection and recently was named the 2023 Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year for the second straight year. American was projected to finish fourth in the Patriot League under the direction of first-year head coach Ahen Kim.
In 2022, Howard's Rya McKinnon was named MEAC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year and helped her team to a share of the 2022 MEAC regular season title and a 20-win season. Howard led the conference in points, hitting percentage, kills and assists last season.
