CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the third consecutive year, Western Michigan setter
Logan Case and outside hitter
Maggie King have both been selected to the Preseason All-MAC West Team, the league announced on Thursday. Additionally, the Broncos were picked to finish second in the MAC West Division by the conference's coaches.
Case is coming off of an excellent year on the court and in the classroom. She finished last season with All-MAC First Team honors and was named a First Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators. The two-time MAC Setter of the Year winner finished last season with an 11.66 assists per set average, which led the MAC and was fourth nationally. Case tallied 1,341 assists on the season to finish second in the conference and ninth nationally.
The Maineville, Ohio, native had 14 double-doubles and recorded 40 or more assists in 21 games. She enters the season ranked first in program history in assists per set (11.86) and third in career assists (3,676).
King earned her third straight selection to the All-MAC First Team last season after leading the conference in kills (458) and finishing second in kills per set (3.98). Her 458 kills ranked 44th in the NCAA and her 3.98 kills per set mark was 51st nationally. King tallied double-digit kills 26 times, reaching the 20-kill mark on six occasions. The veteran outside hitter showed off her well-rounded game by totaling 13 double-doubles, which was second-highest on the team. In the service game, King posted 43 aces, which was third in the conference. In total, King was second in the conference in points and 48th nationally in that category.
Coming off of a 17-win campaign, the MAC coaches selected Western Michigan to finish second in the West Division. WMU received one first-place vote and one vote to win the MAC Tournament. The Broncos trailed only Ball State, which won the division last season. Western Michigan last won the West Division in 2020, and the program will be in search of its first MAC Tournament Championship since 2014.
Bowling Green was listed as the favorite in the East Division, and WMU, BGSU, BSU and Ohio were the only teams to receive at least one first-place vote. The Broncos, Cardinals and Falcons were the three teams to receive at least one vote to win the conference tournament.
The Brown and Gold open the season hosting a tournament at University Arena beginning on Friday. The action will run from Aug. 25-27, with WMU squaring off against Milwaukee (Aug. 25), Northern Iowa (Aug. 26) and Villanova (Aug. 27).
2023 MAC Volleyball East Division Predictions
- Bowling Green (11) – 61 points
- Ohio (1) – 50 points
- Buffalo – 42 points
- Kent State – 28 points
- Miami – 18 points
- Akron – 17 points
2023 MAC Volleyball West Division Predictions
- Ball State (11) – 61 points
- Western Michigan (1) – 43 points
- Central Michigan – 41 points
- Toledo – 38 points
- Northern Illinois – 20 points
- Eastern Michigan – 13 points
Predicted Tournament Champion: Bowling Green (6), Ball State (5),
Western Michigan (1)
East Division Preseason All-MAC Team
- Jessica Andrews, Bowling Green
- Lauryn Hovey, Bowling Green
- Mandy Leigh, Buffalo
- Courtney Okwara, Buffalo
- Caroline Clippard, Ohio
- Caitlin O'Farrell, Ohio
West Division Preseason All-MAC Team
- Marie Plitt, Ball State
- Megan Wielonski, Ball State
- Claire Ammeraal, Central Michigan
- Taylor Alt, Toledo
- Logan Case, Western Michigan
- Maggie King, Western Michigan
