ST. LOUIS – The No. 10 ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team opens its 2023 season this weekend traveling to Nashville for Trevecca Nazarene's Ray Thrasher Classic. The Tritons will take on the host Trojans in their season opener on Friday at 1 p.m. and later that evening face No. 25 Lynn at 5 p.m. On Saturday, UMSL plays Alabama-Huntsville at 9 a.m. and Carson-Newman at 3 p.m. All matches will take place at Trojan Fieldhouse.

The Tritons return 13 players including five starters and libero from last year's team that went 25-7 including 11-1 in the GLVC, won the Midwest Regional Championship, advanced to the national semifinals and finished the season ranked 11th in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 rankings.

Sophomore Caitlin Bishop, First Team All-GLVC, was one of the top setters in the nation last season averaging 11.46 assists per set which was fifth best in the country. Also returning are fifth-year seniors Lexie Rang and Hailey Flowers. Rang, a First Team All-GLVC selection in 2022, was second on the team with 410 kills while Flowers, a Second Team All-GLVC honoree, added 289 kills. Fifth-year senior Mya Elliott led the squad with 89 blocks while sophomore Hannah Copeland added 82 blocks. Senior Kylie Adams, Second Team All-GLVC, led the team with 563 digs.

UMSL begins this season ranked 10th in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll and is favored to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference title. The Tritons play their first 12 contests of the season on the road with four of those matches against teams that qualified for last season's NCAA Tournament.

UMSL's home opener is scheduled for Friday, September 22, hosting William Jewell at 6 p.m. at the Mark Twain Building.

Scouting the Competition
Trevecca Nazarene – The Trojans finished 2022 with a record of 21-12, 11-6 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and advanced to the championship game of the GMAC Tournament for the third time in program history and first since 2015 when they won the title. The Purple and White return one Great Midwest All-Conference selection in setter Emilee McDonald. McDonald averaged 8.97 assists per set last season. Emma Titus and Maddie Wilds also return for the Trojans. Titus was second on the team with 276 while Wilds led the team with 394 digs.

Lynn – The Fighting Knights enter the 2023 season after a 24-6 overall record and third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. They return two All-Americans in setter Emily Edwards and outside hitter Paige Barash along with four starters and six players that appeared in over 50 percent of the team's matches in '22. Edwards, a third team All-American finished last season averaging 10.96 assists per set and posted the program's seventh-highest total in assists with 1,140. Barash led the way on the front row for Lynn with 367 kills and 3.46 kills per set. She posted 10 or more kills in 19 matches and took home First Team All-Sunshine State Conference and AVCA First Team All-South Region awards.

Alabama-Huntsville – The Chargers finished last season with a record of 16-16 including 9-7 in the Gulf South Conference. UAH is picked to finish fifth this season in the GSC and returns 10 players from last year's squad. Gracie McGee and Caroline Moyer are the team's top returners on the offensive side of the ball averaging 2.59 and 2.16 kills per set respectively. Savannah Rutledge averaged 6.52 assists per set while Tatiana Bonilla led the team with 316 digs.

Carson-Newman – The Eagles went 27-6 last season and were the runners-up in the South Atlantic Conference losing to eventual national quarterfinalist Wingate in straight sets. CNU was the third seed in the Southeast Regional but lost to sixth seeded Flagler in the first round of the regional tournament. The Eagles had three players named to the SAC Preseason All-Conference team in Julia Wheeler, Blake Cherry and Emmagrace Cobb. Wheeler, a transfer from Tennessee Tech, was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America in 2022. She ranked sixth in the country in total kills (504) and 10th in kills per set (4.38). Cobb, a middle blocker, finished eighth in the SAC in blocks per set (0.89) and was 12th in hitting percentage (.298). Cherry led the SAC with 52 service aces and had eight double-doubles.