Brockport, NY – The SUNY Brockport women's volleyball team is back in action for the 2021 season, starting with a home match against Houghton College on September 1^st. The season opening match will begin at 7 pm.
 
Reigning SUNYAC Champs: With no 2020 season for the SUNYAC schools, the Brockport Golden Eagles enter 2021 still the defending SUNYAC Champions. They secured the program's ninth overall conference title in 2019, defeating Geneseo in the finals 3-1. Despite a slow start to the 2019 season, the Green and Gold got hot at the right time to gain momentum for its title run. With a 3-0 win against Wells in mid-October, the squad began what became an eight-match win streak to close out the regular season. Defeating Cortland and Geneseo in SUNYACs extended the streak to 10, as the team earned a spot in the NCAA Division III Championships. 2019 ended with a loss to Wellesley College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, as Brockport finished the year 19-11 overall and 7-2 in conference.
 
Coach of the Decade: Head Coach Steve Pike has guided the Golden Eagles to four SUNYAC Championships in the last five years, including the team's most recent conference title in 2019. His incredible turnaround of the program since taking over in 2013 earned him the title of SUNYAC Women's Volleyball Coach of the Decade. 2021 will be his eighth season running the show at Brockport as the program aims for its seventh straight winning season. Since the 2020 season was cancelled, it has been nearly two whole years since this squad has hit the floor. When asked about his and the team's feelings about finally getting to compete again, Coach Pike expressed everyone's excitement.
 
"We are so excited about getting to compete! You really know how much you miss something when you can't do it for a long period of time. Our last time competing in a match was the NCAA Tournament in November of 2019. Maybe the best way I can describe it is that it feels like a child waiting for Christmas, we are counting down the days until September 1^st."
 
Preseason Poll: On August 25^th the SUNYAC released its 2021 Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll. Brockport was voted into the top spot in the preseason poll heading into the regular season. The full listing of the preseason poll is as follows: 1. Brockport, 2. New Paltz, 3. Cortland, 4. Geneseo, 5. Oneonta, 6. Fredonia, 7. Oswego, 8. Buffalo State, 9. Potsdam, 10. Plattsburgh.
 
A Wealth of Returners: Brockport is fortunate to have a large pool of returners coming back to the squad for the 2021 season. Among the returning group are seniors Meaghan Mastro, Ellen Paddock, Kerri McHale, Myah Frostclapp, Andrea Coyle, and Shelby Budnick. Mastro and Paddock both received All-SUNYAC honors during the team's 2019 conference title run, with Mastro earning the 2019 SUNYAC Tournament MVP. The junior class also includes several members of the championship team as Megan Muehlbauer, Brianne Acquard, Krsysti McDonald, and Jordan Thompson are all back. The reigning SUNYAC champions kept a good portion of their core, and have high expectations heading into the season.
 
New Faces: With the 2020 season getting cancelled, there will be plenty of new faces that hit the floor for the Golden Eagles for the first time in their career. Madalyn Bowen comes in for her first season at Brockport as a junior. The sophomore class is made up of Ashley Allen, Kaia Hubbard, Megan Loomis, Caitlin McGuire, Michelle Russotti, and Brooklyn Sullivan. Finally, the incoming freshman class of three is made up of Genesis Branner, Julia Schlundt, and Thea Thompson.
 
Schedule Layout: The Golden Eagles are at home first and then hit the road for the Mount Union Tournament starting on September 3^rd.  Roberts Wesleyan comes to town on September 7^th for another non-conference home matchup. The Golden Eagle Invitational will be held September 10^th-11^th, as the team welcomes multiple schools to compete throughout the weekend. Seven straight road matches are up next, which includes a trip to Grantham, PA for the Messiah Tournament. Brockport will then get into the thick of SUNYAC play with four straight home matches running from October 8^th-16^th. After finishing up conference play on October 23^rd against New Paltz the team competes at the Ithaca Tri-Match to finish out the regular season. The SUNYAC Tournament is slated to start on November 2^nd.
 
Looking at Houghton: The Highlanders were fortunate to have a season in the spring semester of 2021, where they finished 4-5 overall. They lost in the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament, 2-3, against Alfred University. The squad took a step back from the 2019 season where Houghton went 20-5 overall and 6-1 in conference play. The last time Brockport and Houghton faced each other was back in the 2016 season, which resulted in a 3-1 victory for Brockport.
 
What's Next: The Mount Union Tournament is next on the schedule for the Green and Gold, starting on September 3^rd out in Alliance, OH. The team takes on host Mount Union that Friday at 7 pm, Baldwin Wallace on Saturday at 10 am, and Carnegie Mellon at 12 pm on Saturday.