Oklahoma City – After winning the regular season and tournament volleyball titles in 2022, Southwestern Assemblies of God has been selected as the top team in the 2023 Sooner Athletic Conference Volleyball Pre-Season Poll. The league's head coaches voted upon the poll.
The Lions earned the top spot in the poll with 99 points and received all but one first-place vote from the coaches. In 2022, SAGU finished the season with an overall record of 33-2 and turned in a perfect 20-0 record in conference play before defeating Texas Wesleyan in the championship match. SAGU also earned an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament with their regular and tournament titles.
Texas Wesleyan earned the second spot in the poll with 92 points while garnering two first-place nods. The Rams wrapped up the 2022 season with a 26-6 overall record and finished conference play with an 18-2 mark. The Rams also joined the NAIA National Championship field by finishing the 2022 season as the conference tournament runner-up.
John Brown grabbed the third spot in the preseason poll with 80 points after a 22-10 overall record last season and finished league play with a 14-6 record while advancing to the SAC semifinals before falling to Texas Wesleyan. The Golden Eagles were also the only SAC program to earn an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championships in 2022, marking the program’s first appearance in program history.
Oklahoma City grabbed 72 points to earn the fourth position in the poll while Mid-America Christian rounds out the poll’s top five with 62 points.
Complete Pre-Season Poll (First Place Votes in Parenthesis)
- SAGU 99 (9)
- Texas Wesleyan 92 (2)
- John Brown 80
- Oklahoma City 72
- Mid-America Christian 62
- Wayland 53
- Panhandle State 51
- Southwestern Christian 31
- Science and Arts 30
- Central Christian 21
- Langston 12