INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) has unveiled the preseason poll for the 2025 volleyball season. The Malone University volleyball team was voted to finish fourth in the East Division of the league with 32 points.
 
The preseason favorites for each division are the University of Findlay in the North Division, Cedarville University in the South Division and Ashland University in the East Division. Hillsdale College had the best in-conference record one season ago to claim the regular season championship and were voted to finish second in the North Division in 2025 to the 2024 G-MAC Tournament champions, the Findlay Oilers.
 
The Pioneers will look to build upon their 5-24 record last season and fifth-place finish in the East Division. Head Coach Rafael Gonzalez has accumulated 31 wins in his four seasons at the helm of the program. Malone will have a big hole to fill in the back row with the NCAA DII era leader in digs Macy McCauley having graduated. McCauley was the fifth player in program history to reach the 2,000-dig mark and has the best digs per set mark in program history at 4.97.
 
Sophomore Emma Weirich (243) had the second-most digs on the team last year and juniors Brianne Salinas (82.0 blocks) and Jaymes Gilbert (80.0 blocks) anchored the defense at the net. Salinas led the 2024 squad with 192 kills on the season. All but one of the team's top five in kills return to the team this season in Salinas, Weirich, Gilbert and sophomore Marissa Smith. Sophomore Helaina Edgar is the lone student-athlete with experience at the setter position as she enters her sophomore year.
 
The roster is heavy with underclassmen with ten freshmen and seven sophomores. Annika Nichols is the team's lone senior and Laiken Wallick and Jaclyn Jundzilo join Salinas and Gilbert to make up the junior class.
 
The season gets started for the Pioneers on September 5-6 with a trip to Florida where Malone will face Barry University, Nova Southeastern University and D'Youville University. The first home matches of 2025 will be part of the Hall of Fame City Challenge on September 12-13 where there will be ten total matches held inside Osborne Hall.