A year ago, injuries forced right side hitter Lauren Crabtree into an outsized role, serving as Southwestern's lead setter over the second half of the season while retaining her attack, serve, and defensive duties as a six-rotation player. 

She more than managed the workload, earning All-SCAC First Team honors by showcasing her all-around game with 470 assists, 311 digs, 251 kills, 37 blocks, 53 service aces, and a SCAC weekend of matches averaging a triple-double over four matches. 

"We asked a lot of Lauren when [setter Katelyn Whitehead] went down," head coach Don Flora said. "But that's the beauty of her skillset; she can do it all. Now we can narrow it, streamline it, and fine-tune her role as an attacker and six-rotation player." 

This season's Southwestern roster's beauty is the depth at each position and enough versatility to render positional designations nearly meaningless. 

"We don't have any drill-killers," Flora said, referring to athletes who can play the entire game of volleyball. "We have people who understand the game and have skills in all areas with a high volleyball IQ." 

Upfront, Southwestern goes four-deep at the middle blocker position, led by sophomore Riley Brantley with juniors Ashley Whitlock, Darby Stowers, and freshman Andie Valenzuela, all valuable attacking and blocking as middles.  

Brantley is looking to build on a debut season that earned her Second Team All-SCAC honors with 255 kills on a .273 hitting percentage with 82 blocks, 13 aces, 71 digs, and 20 assists. Whitlock is ready to bounce back from an injury-plagued sophomore season and recapture the all-conference magic of her first year. 

"The nice thing about Riley is her ability to cover a lot of ground quickly, and her hitting range—her ability to take swings and find space to put the ball away—is among the best in the conference," Flora said. "And offensively, Ashley is way ahead of where she was last year. She's also starting to understand defense is the primary role of our middles and offense is secondary." 

Stowers provides length at the net, using her size to set a wall for opponents, while Valenzuela is a promising first-year middle with a wonderful volleyball IQ. 

"Andie is a complete middle blocker," Flora said. "She understands the game and has high-level club experience."

Waiting in the wings at the middle blocker is sophomore Joelle Zoolkoski, who sustained a season-ending injury but provides an extra set of eyes from the sideline. 

"Even though she's injured, Joelle has been great sharing her knowledge with her teammates," Flora said. "Overall, the position has great depth and experience." 

On the outside, sophomore Emma White returns as a six-rotation player from last season. At the same time, Audrey Schumacher has moved from defensive specialist to attacker, giving the Pirates a pair of hitters who can contribute in other facets. 

"Emma played a ton of good volleyball last year. She takes a lot of big swings and does a great job in the six rotations of playing volleyball while bringing great joy, communication, and leadership by example," Flora said. "Audrey's confidence has grown, and Alex Grooms and Alex Husen bring a wider breadth of what we're doing at that position." 

Along with Grooms, a high-flying athlete, first-year Kelly Helms gives the Pirates a pair of promising prospects, with Flora stating the latter has more hitting range than any first-year the program has had in a long time. Jess Kuras also returns, giving the Pirates a versatile and, at times, overpowering arm. 

"Jess brings a lot of heat with a very live arm hitting from either antenna," Flora said. "We have a lot of arms at every position. We can score from everywhere. Offensively, we'll be more diverse than we've been in a few years." 

Setting the table for the offense is Whitehead, whose 9.37 assists per set in 16 appearances would have led the SCAC if she'd played enough matches to qualify. 

"Her health was an issue last year, but now she's back and feels better about her knowledge and feel for the team," Flora said. "With a year of experience learning how we want to go about running our offense, the tempo, the spacing, how we deliver the ball, she has a much better grasp of what we're trying to do." 

First-year Kamryn Griggs provides depth at setter, and Crabtree continues to be a capable passer as a constant secondary setting option in the lineup. 

Of course, all that weaponry would be useless without the ability to receive, and it's in the defensive back row that Flora sees some of the team's most significant improvement. 

It starts with junior Ali Grona, who enters her second season as the Southwestern libero after averaging 5.35 digs per set last season, which was good for third in the conference. 

"We're starting to see Ali understand the processes, sequencing, and eye work it takes to be an elite libero as a passer and receiver," Flora said. "She's starting to see and anticipate things in front of her. She has stepped up to hold teammates accountable in doing the little things."

The coaching staff has also seen improvement from defensive specialists Taylor Baccus and Wren Seabolt and feels they've unearthed a gem in sophomore newcomer Abi Benavides. 

"The defensive group has raised their level and made our gym a fun environment. You can see the game starting to slow down for them," Flora said. "We are going to be able to dig a lot of balls and frustrate a lot of opposing teams' offense." 

With no seniors, the Pirates were voted to finish third in the SCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll with the upside to compete against Colorado College and Trinity.

"Every day, we talk about showing our growth and daily development," Flora said. "This is an important year to use this time as a growth phase, compete to be one of the best teams in the conference, and return with a few new pieces to this team next year." 

And with a roster full of versatile, high-IQ athletes capable of anything, the culture of taking care of teammates is beginning to shine in the gym each day.