LEWISTON, Maine -- Season three of the Emily Hayes era opens this Tuesday, Sept. 5 as the Bates College women's volleyball team takes the court for the first time in 2023 with a visit to in-state foe Husson University in Bangor, Maine.

Coach Hayes, the architect of a youth-filled roster consisting of a lone senior (Alma Mackic) five juniors, six sophomores, and a trio of first-years, is ready to see her Bobcats in action.

This is a very competitive roster, which is awesome," Hayes said. "Pushing each other in practice and scrimmages is going to result in us being more successful when we have that jersey on and face an opponent when it counts … we have some good depth."

Having depth on the bench will come in handy right out of the gate for Bates as the Bobcats play four matches over the first five days of the campaign, which includes three in the inaugural "First Serve" Classic (Sept. 8-9), hosted by the garnet and white in Alumni Gym.

The Bobcats welcome Clark University, Maine Maritime Academy, and Western Connecticut State University to campus this Friday and Saturday for six total matches over the two-day round robin event.

"We are so excited to be hosting a tournament," Hayes said. "Bates has a lot to offer and we want to get more teams up here to Maine and come to our place. Hopefully this is the start of an annual event. It's a great opportunity for us to compete against high-level competition and start our season at home."

Providing leadership on the floor and in the locker room will be the program's new team captains, juniors Chrissy Chu (S/DS-Old Tappan, N.J.) and Julia Neumann (MB/OH-Norwell, Mass.).

"Chrissy and Julia are two incredible human beings that have put in a ton of work from a leadership-development angle," Hayes said. "They are two people that want to be their very best, not only for themselves, but for this program. This program means a lot to them, as do their teammates."

Chu will be sharing the setting duties this year with Logan Yogi, a talented first-year out of Kaneohe, Hawaii.

"Logan has been doing an awesome job," Hayes said. "We love her decision-making, which is something we admired during the recruiting process. She likes to take risks offensively and put her hitters in some advantageous spots."

Above the net, Neumann, along with junior Katie Kortekaas (OH-Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Ami Evans (OH-Honolulu, Hawaii), will provide an attack that saw the trio average 105 kills apiece a year ago. Neumann also paced the roster with a team-best 38 blocks.

Sofia Castiglioni, a six-foot-one middle blocker from Oakland, Calif. is expected to bring a lot of power to the lineup and has been "coming into her own" during her first collegiate preseason.

On the back line, sophomore libero Ellie Asada (Honolulu, Hawaii) put together a debut season that saw the then first-year record a program-high 307 digs in 2022, which accounted for 125 more than the runner-up on the roster.

"Ellie has shown a tremendous amount of growth from last fall to this preseason," Hayes said. "She is a really talented volleyball player. She takes charge of the back row and is a huge threat back there. Whether it's her serve-receiving consistency or defensive range, she brings a lot to the floor and will be a huge strength for us moving forward."

Newcomer Eden Lorin (L/DS-Piedmont, Calif.) is also expected to be a presence on the defensive end for Bates.  "She (Eden) is incredibly gritty back there," Hayes said. "It's exciting to see everyone meshing together." 

Is this the year the Bobcats make some noise in the uber-competitive NESCAC?

"We have the talent; it's going to be a matter of continuing to grow that mental-resilience piece. When we are that team with the championship mindset, we are the team that can beat anyone on any given night."