He's mad, but Mary Baldwin University volleyball coach Jody Lohr's eternal optimism and enthusiasm won't let him be mad for long.  Lohr doesn't like that his team is picked 10th in the USA South Athletic Conference preseason coach's poll.  He believes his team will prove the prognosticators wrong.

The 2021 Fighting Squirrels won just five matches in Lohr's first season as head coach after two years as the team's assistant coach.  However, last year's team posted its first conference victory since 2016 and had more wins than all teams combined since 2016.

He worked hard in the offseason to build up his recruiting network, and has added six new players to his solid list of returnees that give the squad optimism for continued improvement in 2022.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Christian and junior Sydney Clarke are returning starters on the attack while senior Abby Adams, junior Savannah Figueroa and sophomore Soleil Rios Rolon have contributed in multiple roles on the back row and libero.

MBU's biggest need the past few years has been at setter, and Lohr has three newcomers battling for the position.  He also has several players battling for playing time at the net, led by returning junior blocker Megan Andrews.

The Fighting Squirrels open the season with a home match on Thursday (9/1) vs. Bridgewater (7 p.m.) and a tri-match at the PAC on Saturday (9/3) vs. Virginia Union (10 a.m.) and Ferrum (2 p.m.).  The schedule includes 18 USA South matches, starting at home Sept. 21 vs. Southern Virginia, leading to eight out of 10 teams qualifying for the conference championship tournament.  Lohr wants his team to be part of the postseason fun.