Women's Volleyball | 8/21/2025 11:00:00 AM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - With Presidents' Athletic Conference women's volleyball starting divisional play this season for the first time, Allegheny College was predicted to win the North Division and Saint Vincent College was tapped as the favorite in the South Division when the annual preseason coaches' poll, as well as the Players to Watch list, were posted Thursday.
With Hiram College returning to the conference this season after playing in the North Coast Athletic Conference for the last 26 years, the PAC splits to two six-team divisions. Each team will play 16 games in the regular season against conference foes, with programs playing their divisional opponents twice and teams from the opposite division one time each.
The PAC Tournament will also expand this year, as eight teams, the top four from each division, qualify for the conference playoffs. The tournament gets underway on Tuesday, Nov. 11th with the top two seeds from each division hosting quarterfinal matches. Semifinal matches will be played Thursday, Nov. 13th and the PAC Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 15th, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All PAC Tournament match-ups will be played at campus sites. For a full breakdown of the new PAC Tournament format, check the PAC Championships page.
The 2024 conference champions Allegheny College, led by last year's PAC Coach of the Year Kelly Barzak, earned the top position in the PAC North Division by collecting nine first-place votes and 63 points. The Gators went 10-0 in the league during the regular season to secure the PAC Tournament's top seed. In the conference tournament, Allegheny swept No. 4 Westminster College in the semifinals and No. 2 Saint Vincent College in the title match to claim their first PAC title since rejoining the league in 2022 and their first conference championship since winning the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 1991. The Gators would drop their first round game in the NCAA Tournament against eighth-ranked East Texas Baptist to finish their season with a 26-6 record.
Picking up one first place vote and 51 points to rank second in the North Division was Grove City College, followed by Westminster in third place with 46 points and a pair of first-place votes. Completing the North Division rankings was Thiel College (33) in fourth, Hiram in fifth (32) and Geneva College (21).
Last year's PAC runner-up Saint Vincent College secured the No. 1 spot in the South Division after gathering eight first-place votes and 63 points. Head Coach Sue Hozak, who has 695 career victories as the program's only head coach since its inception in 1985, guided SVC to its first appearance in the PAC Tournament final following a 3-1 triumph over Chatham University in last year's semifinals.
Behind the Bearcats in second place in this year's South Division poll was Washington & Jefferson College with three first-place votes and 55 points. Chatham ranked third after picking up the final first-place vote and 47 points, with Franciscan University (33 points), Waynesburg University (26) and Bethany College (22) completing the South poll.
This season's Players to Watch list features two of the three major award winners from last fall, as well as five All-PAC First Team selections, seven All-PAC Second Team players and six All-PAC Honorable Mention selections from 2024. The two-time PAC Defensive Player of the Year in Allegheny senior libero Jacy Diaz is back for her final season as a Gator, and the 2024 PAC Newcomer of the Year also returns in Saint Vincent sophomore outside hitter Meegan Williams.
Diaz repeated as a First Team All-PAC selection and the Defensive Player of the Year after she finished the 2024 campaign with career highs in digs (691) and digs per set (6.01), which also ranked her inside the top 10 in Division III in both categories. She helped spark Allegheny's PAC championship run by averaging 6.67 digs per set in PAC Championship Tournament play and Diaz was named to the PAC All-Tournament Team for the second year in a row. In addition, Diaz, earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region 7 to become the first Gator to earn an all-region award since Traci Stoner and Lindsey Tupman '06 were recognized in the fall of 2004 and the first PAC player to earn AVCA All-Region laurels since 2019.
Williams became the first Saint Vincent volleyball player to earn the PAC Newcomer of the Year recognition. She turned in a stellar initial season for the Bearcats, in which she averaged 3.59 kills per set, good for fourth in the PAC, with 140 kills in 10 conference regular season matches. In addition to averaging 4.0 points per set, good for fourth in the conference, Williams made her mark defensively, posting 4.36 digs per set. The PAC Newcomer of the Week five times during the year, Williams notched 13 double-doubles in the regular season, including eight in conference matches.
The Players to Watch list also includes 20 members of the Fall 2024 PAC Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes on varsity sports teams who earned a grade-point average (GPA) of 3.6 or higher on a 4.0 scale during their semester of competition.
| 2025 PAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll (North Division) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2024 record (conference) |
| 1. Allegheny College (9) |
63 |
26-6 (10-0 PAC) |
| 2. Grove City College (1) |
51 |
15-14 (5-5 PAC) |
| 3. Westminster College (2) |
46 |
21-16 (6-4 PAC) |
| 4. Thiel College |
33 |
17-9 (5-5 PAC) |
| 5. Hiram College |
32 |
10-16 (3-4 NCAC) |
| 6. Geneva College |
21 |
9-20 (1-9 PAC) |
| 2025 PAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll (South Division) |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2024 record (conference) |
| 1. Saint Vincent College (8) |
63 |
15-12 (8-2 PAC) |
| 2. Washington & Jefferson College (3) |
55 |
16-13 (6-4 PAC) |
| 3. Chatham University (1) |
47 |
12-13 (7-3 PAC) |
| 4. Franciscan University |
33 |
13-11 (3-7 PAC) |
| 5. Waynesburg University |
26 |
7-16 (3-7 PAC) |
| 6. Bethany College |
22 |
8-20 (1-9 PAC) |
2025 PAC Women's Volleyball Players to Watch
1=2024 1st Team All-PAC / 2=2nd Team All-PAC / HM = Honorable Mention
| Allegheny College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown | High School |
| Duru Akbas (HM) |
Jr. |
DS |
Ankara, Turkey/Layton Christian Academy (Utah) |
| Jacy Diaz (1) |
Sr. |
L |
Barranquitas, Puerto Rico/Gallatin (Tenn.) |
| Skyler Fatola |
Jr. |
MH |
Queen Creek, Ariz./Eastmark |
| Izzy Gray |
Sr. |
S |
Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek |
| Bethany College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| JaSona Belyeu |
Sr. |
DS |
McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport |
| Averie Braymer |
Sr. |
MB |
Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown |
| Andie Clark |
Sr. |
DS |
Columbus, Ind./Hauser |
| Lesley Sanchez |
Sr. |
OH |
Lorain, Ohio/Elyria Catholic |
| Ashton Thomas |
So. |
MB |
Toronto, Ohio/Toronto |
| Chatham University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Becca Gesner (2) |
Jr. |
OPP |
San Diego, Calif./Valley Center |
| Ava Plunkard (2) |
Jr. |
S |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| Sierra Ricci (2) |
Sr. |
L |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler |
| Franciscan University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Mary Jean Cadman (HM) |
Grad. |
OH |
Whitehall, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic |
| Sarah Clyde |
So. |
MB |
Saint Paul, Minn./Saint Agnes |
| Kaitlan Hickey |
So. |
DS |
Richmond, Ohio/Seton Home Study |
| Logan Hickey |
Fr. |
OH |
Richmond, Ohio/Seton Home Study |
| Geneva College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Emily Nelson (HM) |
Sr. |
OH |
Kijabe, Kenya/Rift Valley Academy |
| Katie Seboe |
Jr. |
MH |
Millersburg, Ohio/Loudonville |
| Heather Seubert |
Sr. |
L/DS |
Camp Hill, Pa./Trinity |
| Grove City College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Alayna Dorst |
Jr. |
OH |
Middletown, Del./Middletown |
| Kendra Klusch (1) |
Jr. |
MB |
Alliance, Ohio/Homeschooled |
| Lily Lagaras |
Jr. |
OH/RS |
Crofton, Md./Crofton |
| Lila Stonehouse |
Sr. |
RS |
Hatboro, Pa./Abington |
| Hiram College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Avery Clay |
Jr. |
MB |
Warren, Ohio/Champion |
| Kelly Hoffman |
Sr. |
S |
Streetsboro, Ohio/Crestwood |
| Sydney Wenzel |
So. |
OH |
Parma, Ohio/Holy Name |
| Saint Vincent College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Lauren Fox (HM) |
Sr. |
MH |
Hinckley, Ohio/Highland |
| Dakota Hershberger |
So. |
OH |
Belleville, Pa./Mifflin County |
| Meegan Williams (1) |
So. |
OH |
Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center |
| Thiel College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Danielle Aulet |
5th |
L |
Lawrence, Kan./Mineral Ridge |
| Arin DeLattre (2) |
Jr. |
MB |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Daisy Jenness (1) |
Sr. |
OH/OPP |
Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton |
| Washington & Jefferson College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Faith Fetsko (2) |
Sr. |
OH/DS |
Venetia, Pa./South Park |
| Sophie Little (1) |
Jr. |
MB |
Marysville, Ohio/Fairbanks |
| Piper McFarland (HM) |
Sr. |
DS/L |
West Mifflin, Pa./Cornerstone Christian Acad. |
| Brielle Morehouse |
Jr. |
S |
East Liberty, Ohio/Benjamin Logan |
| Waynesburg University |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Mallory Boyd |
Fr. |
RS |
West Jefferson, Ohio/West Jefferson |
| Larissa Howe |
Grad. |
OH |
Tomball, Texas/Tomball |
| Kristina Zadrozny |
Jr. |
RS |
McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny |
| Westminster College |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Rachel Brady (2) |
Sr. |
OH |
Columbus, Pa./Corry |
| Brooke Gecina (HM) |
So. |
OH/L |
Aurora, Ohio/Aurora |
| Morgan O'Brien |
So. |
S |
Pittsburgh, Pa./OLSH |
| Shelby Rambo (2) |
Sr. |
MH |
East Palestine, Ohio/Crestview |
| Liv Trent |
Jr. |
OH |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood |