Marist officially released its 2025 volleyball schedule on Wednesday morning, a 30-match slate that spans from late August to early November.
In addition to the customary 18 games of MAAC Conference play, the Red Foxes play 12 teams from 10 different conferences. All but one of the non-conference games are on the road, as Marist travels to Buffalo, Middle Tennessee State, St. John’s and UConn for tournaments.
Marist struggled mightily throughout a grueling out-of-conference schedule last season; the young team went 0-10, losing their first 25 sets of the season. Their season-opening skid extended against MAAC opponents, as the Red Foxes lost their first four games of conference play.
“With the freshmen, that’s a tough stretch to handle emotionally,” said head coach Sean Byron. “They don’t understand the big picture because they haven’t gotten to it yet.”
In recent years, Marist has challenged itself out of conference with tough matches to tune itself up for the regular season. Last year, eight of their 10 matches came against teams that finished in the top half of the RPI Final Rankings. This year, it was all about finding the right balance.
“The idea is that it’s challenging, but not overwhelming.”
Sean Byron
Marist starts its season at the Buffalo Invite on the last weekend of August. There, the Red Foxes play Buffalo, Liberty and Rutgers. Though coming out with a win or two would be ideal, Byron’s focus of the tournament is figuring out what works best on the Marist side of the floor.
“The first weekend is a lot about feeling your own team out,” said Byron. “As much as scouting comes into play later, you don’t really have any video, you don’t have time to analyze teams.”
Next, the Red Foxes fly to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for a tournament hosted by Middle Tennessee State University. In addition to the Blue Raiders, Marist has matches against UT Martin and Mississippi State.
The following weekend is an easier commute, as Marist travels down the Hudson River to Queens for the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic. The Red Foxes play a slew of tough opponents, highlighted by the hosts, St. John’s.
“We played St. Johns in the spring, so we were able to see them. They certainly are pretty good,” said Byron.
Additionally, Marist plays West Virginia and Delaware State, who made the 2024 NCAA Tournament and lost to the eventual champions, Penn State.
“It’s really about what you do inside your square on the court rather than the overall win-loss result,” Byron said on facing tough teams.
For their last tournament, Marist heads to Storrs to face UConn and Brown. They then wrap up their non-conference schedule a few weeks into the MAAC season on Oct. 7 at home against Holy Cross.
Below is a look at each non-conference opponent the Red Foxes face.
Buffalo – MAC – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 178
The Bulls lost four crucial seniors to graduation and will look vastly different than last season. Outside hitter Katrin Trebichavska and middle blocker Mandy Leigh were both named to the All-MAC First Team, and Leigh’s sister, Abby, earned All-MAC Second Team honors as Buffalo’s setter. Additionally, starting libero Maria Futey also graduated in the spring.
Junior outside hitter Manoela Forlin finished second on the team in kills in 2024 with 302, but the question for the Bulls this season lies in who will set her the ball. Ashley Ballou, a transfer from UConn who only played one set last season as a freshman, will be competing for the starting job with freshman right-side hitter/setter Madilyn Mitchell.
Liberty – Conference USA – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 210
Liberty also lost countless key contributors to graduation, most notably their top five leaders in kills. Their most experienced hitter still in the program is sophomore outside hitter Paige Overcash, who played in only 15 matches (33 sets) and tallied 77 kills.
One constant for the Flames from last season is their setters, junior Charli Morris and sophomore Charli Crowson, who split setting duties in 2024. Early in the season, while figuring out who their hitters will be come conference play, Liberty will likely run a 6-2 offense with Morris and Crowson as the setters.
Rutgers – Big Ten – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 232
In 2024, Rutgers finished last in the Big Ten, arguably the top conference in women’s volleyball, by going 1-19 in conference play (6-25 overall).
This year, they have question marks at the pins. After leading the team with 322 kills – 140 more than the next Scarlet Knight – redshirt junior outside hitter Alissa Kinkela graduated. With junior outside hitter Anna Hartman transferring to Florida Atlantic, Rutgers will lean on sophomore and senior outside hitters Avery Jesewitz and Lexi Visintine in 2025.
Rutgers returns both of its starting middle blockers from last season, junior Zora Hardison and sophomore Natalie Robinson. Both put up efficient hitting percentages (Hardison at .227 and Robinson at .247), but were not heavily involved in the offense against their tough conference schedule – each averaged under two kills per set.
Middle Tennessee State – Conference USA – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 207
After a coaching change, the Blue Raiders lost five players to the transfer portal, in addition to two graduates who made the All-Conference USA Second Team.
The coaching change completely alters Middle Tennessee’s formerly well-balanced offense. In 2024, seven players tallied 100 or more kills – only two of them are returning for 2025.
The Blue Raiders are without their starting setter, Andi Spies, who put up a phenomenal freshman season in 2024. Spies recorded 1,115 assists, earning her Conference USA Freshman of the Year and All-Conference USA Second Team honors, but transferred to Cincinnati in the offseason.
UT Martin – OVC – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 309
The Skyhawks struggled to a 5-22 record in 2024, but return their top outside hitter, Kylie Surratt. In her freshman campaign, Surratt led the team in kills with 292, swinging her way onto the ALL-OVC Second Team. However, their primary setter, Katie Cruise, transferred to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi ahead of her redshirt junior season.
Mississippi State – SEC – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 132
The 2024 Mississippi State squad featured six fifth-year seniors who started for the Bulldogs and will no longer be with the program: setter Ceci Harness, outside hitters Karli Schmidt and Kailin Newsome, right-side hitter Amina Shackelford and middle blockers Rebecca Walk and Kennedy Davis.
With an additional four other Bulldogs transferring, Mississippi State’s roster only contains seven of the 18 players that made up the 2024 roster, forcing them to run out an entirely different lineup in 2025.
St. John’s – Big East – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 60
After missing the NCAA Tournament, St. John’s reached the semifinals of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) before losing to former Red Fox Jordan Newblatt and Bowling Green State in a tight five-set match.
Senior right-side hitter/setter Erin Jones has led the way for the Red Storm each of the past two years with back-to-back All-Big East seasons. Jones built off her phenomenal 446-kill season in 2023 with an even better one last year; she placed 24th in all of Division I volleyball with 504 kills.
Jones even racked up 316 assists, a skill that might be valuable to the Red Storm in 2025. Their starting setter, Wiktoria Kowalczyk, graduated, leaving a gaping hole at the setter position; the Red Storm only have one other setter on the roster, Martina Capponcelli, an incoming freshman.
West Virginia – Big 12 – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 201
On Sept. 13, Byron faces off with one of his previous coaching stops, West Virginia. Byron spent the 2015 season with the Mountaineers as an assistant coach.
“Obviously none of those kids were there when I was there or were recruited when I was there, but it should be interesting to play them,” said Byron. “They’re always physical.”
The Mountaineers went 2-16 in the Big 12 (8-21 overall) in 2024, but have numerous reinforcements coming. In addition to three freshmen recruits, West Virginia picked up five players in the transfer portal: junior outside hitter Nina Horning (Cincinnati), sophomore defensive specialist/libero Tally Grissom (Tulsa), sophomore outside hitter Maggie Elliott (South Carolina), senior defensive specialist/libero LonDynn Betts (Purdue Fort Wayne) and redshirt junior right-side hitter Trinity Sheridan (UC Riverside).
Delaware State – MEAC – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 198
Delaware State won the MEAC last year, taking down the undefeated Howard Bison in five sets for their second MEAC title in the last three years. Championship MVP and All-MEAC First Teamer Gerren Tomlin is back for her senior year, aiming to build on the Hornets’ dynasty. The outside hitter had 366 kills in 2024, averaging 3.24 a set (fourth most in the MEAC).
UConn – Big East – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 61
The Huskies bring back a dynamic duo of senior outside hitters: Hanna Tylska and Emma Werkmeister. Tylska led UConn with 333 kills, good for 3.20 kills per set. Meanwhile, Werkmeister was named to the All-Big East Team; although she scored fewer kills than Tylska (311), she racked up more points on the season thanks to her team leading 51 aces.
However, their most important returner is graduate student setter Doga Kutlu. In her senior year, Kutlu assisted on 1,263 successful attacks, the 14th most in DI volleyball. Kutlu was unanimously selected to the All-Big East Team, and announced she’d return for a fifth year in January.
Brown – Ivy League – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 179
The Bears are anchored by senior libero Jessie Golden, winner of the Ivy League’s Defensive Player of the Year award after averaging 4.10 digs per set and an 80.3 dig percentage. On the other side of the ball, senior outside hitter Mariia Sidorova leads the Brown offense. The 2024 First Team All-Ivy League honoree’s 335 kills were the most on the team by far – 150 more than any of her teammates.
Holy Cross – Patriot League – 2024 RPI Final Ranking: 326
Holy Cross was one of just nine DI teams with fewer wins than Marist in 2024, as the Crusaders went 2-23. The Red Foxes’ match with Holy Cross is also their only home non-conference game, and it comes on Oct. 7, right in the heart of MAAC Conference play – an unusual but valuable time for a non-conference match.
“You’re trying all these things out in preseason, then you get to MAAC play and you’re playing your best group every night in and out. They don’t really get a recovery time,” said Byron. You can take a little more risks, and you can be a little more creative with some things you do in the middle of the season.”
Edited by Hayden Shapiro and Max Rosen
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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