2025 DII Volleyball National Championship Preview
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (Oct. 29, 2025) … Six teams learned their seeding and that they will be participating in the 2025 USCAA Women’s Division II Volleyball Championships hosted at Penn State Fayette on Nov. 6-8 in the bid show held on Wednesday afternoon.
The top-seed in the 2025 tournament will be the Cougars of UC Clermont from Batavia, Ohio. UC-C, making its seventh straight appearance and 17th in program history are looking to capture their second title and enter with a 23-4 record. As a team, they lead the association in hitting percentage behind middle hitter, Kaitlyn Finnigan, who is hitting an impressive .443 to lead her team this season. Teams will also need to keep an eye on Ashley Kaminsky, an outside hitter who is right behind Finnigan in kills and junior setter Hannah Daniels will be running the offense and has already tallied 554 assists, landing her among the top five setters in the nation. The Cougars are coached by Josh Hamer.
The second spot in the field will go to the defending National Champions, from New Philadelphia, Ohio Kent State Tuscarawas. The Golden Eagles, who enter with a record of 19-5, will be led offensively by freshman, Allie Snyder who leads the team in kills and is second in aces and sophomore, Mackenzie Neininger, who is second in kills behind Snyder. Another player to watch is senior, Elizabeth Keller, who is the heart of their defense, leading the USCAA in digs as well as service aces this season. The Golden Eagles are coached by Cortney Goodwin.
Sliding into the third spot in the bracket are the PSUAC Champions, Penn State York. The Lady Lions enter the tournament with an overall record of 22-2, on an 11-game win streak. This will be a tough team to beat defensively as they lead the nation in both digs and are second in service aces and total blocks. PSU York is a relatively young team led by a pair of freshmen on offense in Kira Eisenberg and Gracie Reinhart who lead their team in kills respectively. But Reinhart does not stop there, as she is a two-way threat leading the team in digs and service aces. Running their offense is freshman setter, Joan Olson, who has tallied well over 500 assists this season. Penn State York is coached by Keith Hartman.
Entering the National Tournament as the fourth seed and making their first ever National Championship appearance are the Wright State Lake Lakers from Celina, Ohio sporting a 10-9 record. Led by a pair of freshmen in Macy Klopfenstein and Lexi Hartings the Lakers will look to make their presence felt. Klopfenstein leads the team in kills and is 3rd in blocks, making her a tough matchup on the right side while Hartings leads the team in hitting percentage and total blocks from the middle. Senior libero, Kaitlin Rickert, looks to be at the heart of their defense, leading the team in digs. Wright State Lake is coached by Anthony Chappel.
Claiming the fifth seed in this year’s field are the Penn State Shenango Lady Lions, also making their first ever National Championship appearance. Finishing as the PSUAC Runner up, they finished the season with an 14-9 record, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. Highlighting the offense will be a pair of freshmen in Savana Shipman and Izzy Mauro who lead the team respectively in kills. Shipman will also be another two-way threat in this year’s field as she also leads the team in digs. It will be freshman Jadeyn Zepeda guiding this offense as she has tallied 597 assists this season. The Lady Lions, looking to stay hot as they enter the tournament, are led by head coach, Andrew Frank.
Rounding out this year’s championship field, with a 16-1 record, will be the Yankee Small College Conference champions, the Seawolves of Southern Maine Community College. Making their second consecutive appearance, they will be led into the tournament by a familiar face in Meryk Lewellen who is second in the nation in hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Yana Montell, continues to run this offense leading the team in assists while also contributing 88 digs on the season. But it is Dalia Nelson who teams will really need to watch out for on defense, leading her team in digs. SMCC is coached by Garrett Lewellen.
Pool A will feature #1 seed, UC Clermont, #4 seed Wright State Lake and #5 seed Penn State Shenango. Pool B will feature #2 seed, Kent State Tuscarawas, #3 seed Penn State York and the #6 seed, Southern Maine Community College.
The 2025 USCAA Volleyball National Championships will take place November 6-8th at Penn State Fayette in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. If you are interested in traveling to support your team, log on to the USCAA tournament website -uscaachampionships.com – for tickets, lodging, and travel info. On Wednesday the 5th, we are also hosting an in-person All-American Award Ceremony. This unique experience will celebrate both the athletic and academic achievements of our student-athletes.
For those who can’t be there in person, you can watch all games live online by visiting theuscaa.com and clicking “Watch Live” or going directly to the USCAA Sports Network at uscaasportsnetwork.com. Games can be streamed for only $9.95 for a single game, or $39.95 for an all access pass, giving you every game of the entire tournament in both divisions. The USCAA’s Championship website – uscaachampionships.com, serves as a one-stop shop for live stats, results, schedules, and all other items related to tournament play.
Please make sure to follow the USCAA on social media, which will keep followers up to date on all the happenings from tournament play.