2024 Volleyball National Championship Fields Announced
Pittsburgh, PA -- The 2024 Volleyball Championship fields were announced on Wednesday, October 30th.
Women's Division I Volleyball
#1 Seed: Headlining the field for this year’s USCAA Women’s Division 1 Volleyball National Championship will be the Conquistadors of Florida National University from Hialeah, Florida. Coming into the tournament with a 18-2 record, they did not drop a match in the month of October, making them the hottest team in the nation as they look to make their first tournament appearance since 2021. Their offensive attack is led by freshman, Kitula Amaya Morales who is hitting .257 with 131 kills. She is paired with senior, Layla Cortez who leads the team in kills with 143, hitting .217. Distributing the ball is their setter, Ivette Sandoval who has 365 assists this season. And defensively they are anchored by senior libero, Taylor Purdy who has tallied 179 digs. As a team they are ranked in the top 6 of the USCAA in kills, assists, aces, digs and total blocks making them very well rounded. Florida National is coached by Carlos Huaroto-Luque.
#2 Seed: The second spot in the Women’s Division I tournament will go to Shaw University from Raleigh, North Carolina! They enter the tournament with a 18-3 overall record winning 10 of their last 11 matches. In their first ever USCAA appearance, the Lady Bears will be led by Talia Emmen who leads the team in kills with 195, while hitting .350. In the middle you will find Kamille Patrick who is hitting .324 with 133 kills and 34 total blocks, making her a threat on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they look to Kalia Morris who leads the team with 244 digs this season. As a team, Shaw leads the Association in kills per set, hitting percentage, assists per set and service aces, showing their aggressiveness on the court. The Lady Bears are coached by Jonathan Paulk.
#3 Seed: Sliding into the third spot in the bracket, making their second tournament appearance are the Lyon College Scots from Batesville, Arkansas. The Scots are led by senior, Kylee Sabella who leads her team in kills with 246. She will be a threat all around the court as she’s also amassed 47 aces and 220 digs so far this season. Another player to watch will be Mollie McCoy, an opposite hitter who sits right behind Sabella in kills with 199 and brings 34 total blocks as well. As a team, they lead the Association in kills with 991 on the season, and are ranked among the top 5 in assists, aces, digs and total blocks making them another very well rounded team in this year’s field as they look to make their way back into the National Championship game. The Scots are lead by Head Coach, Kortney Cunningham.
#4 Seed: Entering this year's tournament in the 4th seed, and looking to defend their title as reigning National Champions are the University of Maine Fort Kent Bengals from Fort Kent, Maine. The Bengals look to make their run behind Maria Pena who leads the team in kills with 186, hitting .231 while also being solid on defense tallying 239 digs. Senior, setter Carla Rodriguez will have her offense running smoothly as she’s already dished out 443 assists this season and will also be a threat from the service line with 40 aces entering the tournament. Teams will also want to keep an eye on Kaylse Whitehead who enters this year’s tournament with 29 total blocks in the middle. The Bengals are coached by Cadin Taggart.
#5 Seed: The fifth seed in the 2024 National Championship field belongs to Bay Path University, hailing from Longmeadow, Massachusetts. The Wildcats are led by the reigning Player of the Year, Anastasiya Tsetsko, who has tallied 251 kills this season, landing her second in the nation in that category. She’s also third in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting an impressive .391 so far this season. She’s also a weapon from the service line, leading the nation in aces with 53. On the defensive side of the ball, their opponents will have to work around Shanayah St Phard and Lilly Kibbe who have 263 and 120 digs respectively, making them a hard team to score on. The Wildcats are coached by the 2023 Coach of the Year, Heather Longley.
#6 Seed: The sixth and final seed in this year’s field will be held by the Carlow University Celtics from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their squad is led by junior, outside hitter, Rebecca Hess who is fourth in the Association in kills with 214. Hess is yet another two-way threat in this year’s tournament as she’s also recorded 276 digs this season. But Carlow’s firepower doesn’t stop there. Teams will also need to watch for Javonna Perkins and Allison Humbertson who follow Hess as offensive leaders on their team. Junior, Sara Porter and freshman, Emily Hess will also play an integral role in Carlow’s success as they tallied 330 and 268 assists respectively. The Celtics are led by Head Coach, Julie Gaul.
Women's Division II Volleyball
#1 Seed: Headlining the field for this year’s USCAA Women’s Division II Volleyball National Championship will be the Cougars of UC Clermont from Batavia, Ohio. Making their 6th straight tournament appearance, they will look to capture their 2nd title in 4 years. Middle hitter Kaitlyn Finnigan enters the tournament hitting .386 with 279 kills, landing her 2nd in the nation, guiding the offense. On the defensive side of the ball, Isabella Melotik will canvas the court tallying 590 digs, to lead the nation. Rounding out their players to watch is Hannah Daniels who is in the top 10 in the country in assists with 418 so far this season. As a team, they lead the nation in kills and are second in hitting percentage and will look to be an offensive threat in this year’s field. But don’t count them out on defense as their block leads the nation. The Cougars are coached by Josh Hamer.
#2 Seed: The second spot in the Women’s Division II tournament belongs Kent State Tuscarawas. The Golden Eagles will be led by a pair of freshmen in Mackenzie Neininger and Rylee Sensabaugh as they only returned 3 players from last year’s national championship contending squad. Neininger is among the top in the nation in kills with 248 so far this year. Sensabaugh is right behind her with 188. Elizabeth Keller will look to anchor their defense, entering the weekend with 249 digs. This young squad leads the nation in kills per set and is second in assists per set and will look to keep their high powered offense running smoothly as they look for their first national championship. The Golden Eagles are coached by Cortney Goodwin.
#3 Seed: Sliding into the third spot in the bracket are the Penn State University Athletic Conference champions, the Penn State Hazleton Lady Lions. This squad will be led into the tournament by third year outside hitter Sydney Mack who enters the tournament with 352 kills, leading both her team and the Association this season. By her side is setter Sophia Del Vacchio who leads the nation in assists per set, averaging more than 8 per set. On the defensive side of the ball, Nora Jones will be the starting libero on the floor and will look to maintain a seat among the top 10 liberos in the nation. As a team, this is a squad who likes to work on the offensive side of the ball as they lead the nation in total attempts and will look to use that to their advantage as they work their way through pool play. The Lady Lions are coached by Noel Kaufman.
#4 Seed: Entering the National Tournament as the fourth seed are last year’s defending National Champions, the Penn State Mont Alto Lions from Mont Alto, Pennsylvania. The Lady Lions are led by two headed monster of Gracie Vaughn, who brings 238 kills into the tournament hitting .275 and Leslie Huckle who is right behind Vaughn in kills with 229. Defensively it will be Ashlyn Vandenbree who keeps Mont Alto in the match tallying a staggering 424 digs so far this season. As a team, they are among the top 5 in the nation in kills, assists, service aces, digs and total blocks making them a threat, as they have proven in the last several seasons. The Lions are coached by Randy Hood.
#5 Seed: Claiming the fifth seed in their year’s field, with an 18-2 record, will be the Yankee Small College Conference champions, the Seawolves of Southern Maine Community College. Led by first year, Meryk Lewellen who is in the top 5 in the nation in kills with 241 and is 4th in the nation in aces with 62. Yana Montell will be feeding Meryk the ball often with numbers like those as she has tallied 345 assists so far this season. This will be a team to watch from the service line as well as they lead the nation in aces. This marks the first trip to the national tournament for the Seawolves who are coached by Garrett Lewellen.
#6 Seed: And finally, rounding out this year’s championship field, Are the Paul Smith’s Bobcats from Paul Smith’s, New York. Leading the team will be a dual offensive threat in Finnley Jacobson and Kaliyah Davis who lead their team in kills with 170 and 120 respectively this season. But they aren’t just an offensive threat, these young ladies also lead their team on the defensive side of the ball with Jacobson tallying 244 digs and Davis with 279, making them an all around threat in this year’s field. As a team, they rank among the top 5 in the Association in hitting percentage, service aces per set and digs per set. The Bobcats are led by head coach Bridget McCormick.
All championship games will be played at Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, PA. For more information about the tournament and full schedule, please visit www.uscaachampionships.com.