Brockport, NY – The SUNY Brockport volleyball team will begin the 2023 campaign out in Alliance, OH competing at the Mount Union Tournament. The Golden Eagles will face John Carroll at 4pm on Friday, September 1^st to get the weekend started.
 
Mt. Union Tournament: The Golden Eagles are scheduled to play four matches this weekend out at Mount Union's event. It begins with the 4pm date with John Carroll on Friday, September 1^st. Later on Friday the squad will matchup with Albion College at 6pm. The action continues Saturday at 12pm in a meeting with Marietta. Finally the weekend comes to an end after a 2pm battle with Mount Union on Saturday.
 
The Green and Gold did not compete at the Mount Union Tournament last year, so the team is returning to Ohio for the event for the first time since 2021. In that last trip to the invitational Brockport went 2-1, dropping a match only to the hosting Purple Raiders (3-1). The squad picked up wins against Baldwin Wallace (3-0) and Carnegie Mellon (3-2).
 
Check the schedule page, https://gobrockport.com/sports/womens-volleyball/schedule, for links to follow along with live video and stats all weekend.
 
2022 Review: Last season the Golden Eagles made a nice postseason run back to the SUNYAC Championship after falling in the semifinals in 2021. They went 20-8 overall with an 8-1 mark in the conference to earn the second seed for the SUNYAC Tournament. After a first-round bye the team took down the third seeded New Paltz Hawks, 3-1, in the semifinals. Brockport was halted by the top-seeded Cortland Red Dragons in a five-set thriller in the championship match. The program was recognized with four All-SUNYAC selections, a pair of All-Region nods, and two All-American honorable mentions.
 
Beginning of a New Era: In February of 2023, SUNY Brockport Athletic Director announced the hiring of Jim Clar as the new head women's volleyball coach. This weekend will mark the start of the Clar Era for the Golden Eagle program. Clar spent the last 11 seasons developing the Hartwick College volleyball program into a perennial contender in the Empire 8 Conference.  His hard work came to fruition this past Fall as he guided the Hawks to their best record in program-history, 20-5 overall, en route to earning Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors. He piloted the Hawks to the program's first Empire 8 Championship game appearance; four all-conference selections and he also mentored the Empire 8 Player of the Year.
 
Thompson Back for More: Jordan Thompson returns for another year wearing the Gold and Green after a career-year last season. She racked up the accolades in 2022 including AVCA All-American Honorable Mention, All-Region, and 1^st-Team All-SUNYAC honors. Jordan led the SUNYAC last year in total points (429), kills (325), and service aces (69).
 
Golden Eagle Returners: There is a total of nine returning players from last year's roster ready to compete again in 2023. Thompson is joined by Ashley Allen, Kaia Hubbard, Megan Loomis, Maren Lutz, Jayda Pyle, Alexis Sison, Brooklyn Sullivan, and Alenna Williamson.
 
New Faces: With a new season comes new faces to the program and this year Brockport is welcoming seven new players to the team. The incoming group includes Gianna Felipe, Maddy Howell, Kaitlyn Jewett, Elsie Logan, Emma Schumaker, Arrica Silliman, and Leah Vitiello.
 
Weekend Matchups: John Carroll is up first for Brockport out in Ohio. Last season the Blue Streaks went 21-8 with a 6-3 record in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Their year came to an end with a 3-0 loss to Otterbein in the OAC Championship.
 
The next match of the weekend will be against Albion College. In 2022, Albion went 25-6 overall and held a 6-2 mark competing in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). The Britons match John Carroll with a 3-0 loss in the conference championship.
 
Marietta will be the third matchup for the Golden Eagles at the Mount Union Tournament. On day two they will face a team that finished 19-9 overall last season. The Marietta Pioneers went 6-3 in the OAC and fell, 3-1, to the eventual champs from Otterbein in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
 
To close out the weekend, Brockport will take on the hosting Purple Raiders of Mount Union. The Raiders were 19-8 overall and 5-4 in the OAC in 2022. They made an appearance in the conference tournament but were knocked out in the first round by Marietta.
 
Looking Ahead: Following the tournament out in Ohio, the Golden Eagles will prepare for the William Smith Tournament next weekend. They will play Thiel College at 4pm on Friday, September 8^th, Hartwick on Saturday at 3:30pm, and William Smith at 6pm on Saturday.