FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The start of a new season always brings excitement, but the 2025 campaign means something entirely different to the Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team. The Pioneers will play their first season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2025 and will open the newly renovated William H. Pitt Center.  

Before SHU begins conference play or opens its new arena, the Pios will begin the year with three matches at the UConn Invitational, which spans Friday, Aug. 30, to Sunday, Sept. 1. 

SHU AT UCONN INVITATIONAL MATCH INFORMATION 
Match 1: Sacred Heart vs. Youngstown State – Friday, August 30; 4:00 p.m. 
Match 2: Sacred Heart vs. LIU – Saturday, August 31; 2:00 p.m. 
Match 3: Sacred Heart at UConn – Sunday, September 1; 2:00 p.m. 

PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Pioneers were tabbed third heading into their first season in the MAAC. SHU concluded a trio of Connecticut teams that comprised the top three on the rankings, as defending champs Fairfield placed first and Quinnipiac took second. 

RETURNING PIONEERS
SHU returns eight Pioneers from last season's team that won the Northeast Conference (NEC) regular-season championship. Leading the way is All-Conference members Gaby Zovko and Camryn Luginbuhl. The NEC Setter and Rookie of the Year, Zovko returns as a sophomore after orchestrating the Pioneers' offense with 7.04 assists per set, which ranked fourth in the conference. Luginbuhl finished fourth in the NEC with 2.95 kills per set while hitting .170. She appeared in 26 of 27 matches and led the team with 280.5 points. 

Luginbuhl returns in 2024 as a captain, serving beside senior middle blocker Cristina Montanez. Montanez, a one-time NEC Defensive Player of the Week, set new career highs across the board with the board with 114 kills (1.27/set), 90 blocks (1.00/set) and a .326 hitting percentage. 

FRESH FACES
The Pioneers welcome 11 new players to the roster this season, featuring a mix of transfers and first years. The three transfers are graduate student Peyton Plant, senior Allison Murray and sophomore Tiana Brasby. Plant saw time in 32 matches over four seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce. Murray and Brasby both transferred from NEC programs, as Murray came from Saint Francis and Brasby from league champs LIU. 

Elizabeth Kenney, Miliani Villarreal, Sabrina Jones, Brielle Laferriere, Molly Newton, Addison Murphy, Sydney Stanfield and Katie Lam comprise the eight-person first year class. The class features multiple positions and will have the opportunity to make an impact in year one. 

LOOKING ACROSS THE NET
Youngstown State

• The Penguins went 9-20 last season, finishing 4-14 in the Horizon League. 
• After going through an eight-match losing streak in conference play, Youngstown State won two of its three final matches, defeating IUPUI and Robert Morris at home. 
• The Penguins returned seven players, including fifth-years Dayan Malave and Isabel Schaefbauer. 
• Schaefbauer was second on the team with 515 assists last season as one of two setters that saw signifigant playing time. 
• Malave, a 5-11 middle blocker, was second on the Penguins with a career-best 99 blocks in 2023. 
• Nyia Setla highlights Youngstown State's incoming class. 
• Setla is a fifth-year defensive specialist from Division II West Liberty, where she posted one of the best careers in the program's history. 
• The Northville, Mich., native was a two-time All-American and a two-time Mountain East Conference Libero of the Year in 2022 and 2023, being one of three Hilltoppers in school history to record 2,000 career digs. 

LIU 

• The Sharks enter 2024 as the defending Northeast Conference (NEC) champs, defeating the Pioneers in the semifinals last season. 
• LIU then bested second-seeded FDU in the title match to book an NCAA Tournament bout against No. 1 nationally-ranked Nebraska in Lincoln. 
• The NEC's kills leader Camelia Melendez returns in 2024. 
• The senior outside hitter made the All-NEC First Team, NEC All-Tournament Team and was the NEC Tournament MVP. 
• LIU also brings back Alasha Colon, the reigning NEC Defensive Player of the Year. 
• The senior libero led the conference in digs and digs per set (5.43), was 10th in Division I in digs/set and 12th in total digs (614). 

UConn

• The Huskies finished the 2023 campaign with an 8-22 overall record after going 3-15 in the BIG EAST. 
• Six of UConn's victories came at home at the UConn Volleyball Center, which opened last year. 
• Three of the Huskies' wins came in a three-match stretch, as UConn bested Merrimack, SHU and Rhode Island. 
• UConn brings back key contributors all over the court, led by Junior outside hitter Emma Werkmeister. 
• Werkmeister led the Huskies with 340 kills and 29 service aces. 
• UConn also returns senior setter Doga Kutlu, who tallied 836 service assists in 2023, and 8.77 per set in conference play, 6th in the BIG EAST.
• The Huskies welcome a handful of newcomers, including five freshmen and one transfer this year.