Women's Volleyball Set For E8 Semifinal Matchup Against Geneseo

No. 1 St. John Fisher (27-1 overall, 11-0 Empire 8 reg. season)

Head Coach: Kelly Greapentrog (17th season at Fisher, 19th overall)

Career Record: 319-267 (298-216 at Fisher)

Statistical Leaders: Points (Kaylene Noble, 376.5), Kills (Noble, 351), Hitting % (Ana Gutman, .347), Assists (Reilly Morrow, 856), Service Aces (Lydia Fraser, 70), Digs (Kiera Hartpence, 311), Total Blocks (Gutman, 77)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

No. 4 SUNY Geneseo (15-11 overall, 7-4 Empire 8 reg. season)

Head Coach: Hunter Drews (8th season SUNY Geneseo)

Career Record: 126-100

Statistical Leaders: Points (Kate Barba, 285.5), Kills (Barba, 233), Hitting % (Carolyn Mack, .266%), Service Aces (Barba, 46), Digs (Zooey Gagnier, 419), Total Blocks (Ayla Pas'cal, 78)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

How They Got Here

St. John Fisher: The St. John Fisher women's volleyball team began its postseason journey on Saturday afternoon at the Manning & Napier Varsity Gym with a sweep (25-13, 25-15, 25-18) of No. 8-seeded Alfred in the first round of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament. 

The top-seeded Cardinals (27-1), who have won 27 consecutive matches, set program records for wins (27) and sweeps (22) in a season during the rally scoring era (2001-present) with the victory. 

Freshman outside hitter Kalyna Dannenberg led the Cardinals in kills (12) and digs (11) as part of her ninth double-double of the season. She accounted for a team-high 14.5 points, averaging nearly five per set. 

Geneseo: The Knights swept Houghton (25-19, 25-18, 25-7) on Saturday to punch their ticket to the E8 semifinals. Kate Barba had eight kills and accounted for 10 points, while Sophie Hunter had nine kills and nine points. McKenna Callari had a match-high five service aces. 

With A Win… 

St. John Fisher would… advance to the Empire 8 title game for the sixth time in program history… improve to 13-3 in E8 Tournament games since 2017… improve to 13-11 overall in E8 Tournament games… improve to 37-2 since a four-set loss to Nazareth last October… record 28th consecutive victory… win its 20th straight match against an E8 team. 

St. John Fisher vs. Geneseo History

Series Snapshot: St. John Fisher and Geneseo have split 26 matches (13-13) since 2005. The Cardinals, however, have won three straight over the Knights. 

Postseason Meetings: Wednesday's match will be the second E8 Tournament matchup between the teams. The Cardinals beat Geneseo in four sets last November in the first round of the tournament. 

Last Meeting: The Cardinals earned a road sweep of Genese on Oct. 4. Junior outside hitter Kaylene Noble, who accounted for 18.5 points, slammed 18 kills and finished with a .341 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Lydia Fraser had six kills and four service aces. 

20 Things About Fisher

1 - The Cardinals own the second-longest active winning streak in NCAA Division III (27 matches). Additionally, they are tied with Division II Fresno Pacific for the second-longest active winning streak in the entire NCAA. East Texas Baptist (29 matches) has the longest winning streak in the country. 

2 - The Cardinals’ 27-match winning streak is the longest in program history during the rally scoring era (2001-present). 

3 - The Cardinals' 27 wins are their most in a season during the rally scoring era.  

4 - The Cardinals have 22 sweeps this season, the most in program history during the rally scoring era. 

5 - The Cardinals set a program record for consecutive sweeps (17) during the rally scoring era earlier this season. 

6 - Head coach Kelly Greapentrog surpassed 300 career victories earlier this season. She has recorded 298 of her 319 wins at St. John Fisher.

7 - The Cardinals wrapped up their sixth unbeaten E8 regular season two weeks ago with their win over Alfred. 

8 - Junior outside hitter Kaylene Noble recently surpassed 1,000 career kills and has 351 on the season, the most in the Empire 8. She’s 25th in the nation in kills per set, averaging 4.08. 

9 - Noble sports the highest hitting percentage (.329) of her collegiate career entering the semifinals. She’s hit at least .300 in 19 of the Cardinals’ 28 matches. 

10 - Junior middle blocker Ana Gutman leads the Empire 8 and ranks 32nd in DIII with a .347 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high 77 total blocks. 

11 - Freshman outside hitter Kaylna Dannenberg has been one of the top rookies in the country this season. She has 300 kills with a .252 hitting percentage to go along with 227 digs, 33 service aces and 29 total blocks.

12 - Dannenberg is fourth in the conference in total points (376.5) and second in kills per set (3.49). 

13 - Senior setter Reilly Morrow ranks 9th in the nation in assists per set, averaging 10.44. She has 856 total assists, the most in the conference. 

14 - Morrow has 2,675 career assists, the fifth-most in Fisher history. 

15 - Senior libero Kiera Hartpence has 1,524 career digs, good for eighth in Fisher history. 

16 - Sophomore outside hitter Lydia Fraser is the first Fisher player to have at least 70 in a season since Amy Street recorded 76 in 2009. 

17 - The Cardinals are eighth in the country in team hitting percentage (.260).

18 - Fisher has won 19 consecutive matches against conference teams. 

19 - Fisher has won five Empire 8 titles since 2019. 

20 - Fisher has been to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons and six times overall. 

Empire 8 Tournament Central 

The 2025 Empire 8 Conference Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament will feature the conference's top eight teams from regular season play. First round/quarterfinal action will feature the No. 1 seed hosting the No. 8 seed, No. 2 seed hosting the No. 7 seed, No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed and No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The winner of the No. 1 and No. 8 match will take on the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 game in one semifinal and the winner of the No. 2 and No. 7 match will take on the winner of the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds in the second semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 12, with both games played at the higher seed.

The two semifinal winners will meet on Saturday, Nov. 15 at the highest remaining seed in the E8 Championship. The Empire 8 Champion will earn an automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament.

2025 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Participants
No. 1 – St. John Fisher University (11-0 E8, 26-1 Overall)
No. 2 – Hartwick College (10-1 E8, 19-10 Overall)
No. 3 – SUNY Brockport (9-2 E8, 16-8 Overall)
No. 4 – SUNY Geneseo (7-4 E8, 14-11 Overall)
No. 5 – Houghton University (7-4 E8, 13-11 Overall) 
No. 6 – Russell Sage College (6-5 E8, 11-13 Overall)
No. 7 – Utica University (5-6 E8, 13-16 Overall)
No. 8 – Alfred University (4-7 E8, 12-17 Overall)

2025 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Schedule

Saturday, November 8 – First Round 
No. 1 St. John Fisher defeats No. 8 Alfred – 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-18) – BOX SCORE

No. 2 Hartwick defeats No. 7 Utica – 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-15) – BOX SCORE

No. 3 SUNY Brockport defeats No. 6 Russell Sage – 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-15) – BOX SCORE

No. 4 SUNY Geneseo defeats No. 5 Houghton – 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-7) – BOX SCORE

Wednesday, November 12 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
No. 4 SUNY Geneseo at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 3 SUNY Brockport at No. 2 Hartwick – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

Saturday, November 15 - Championship Final
Winner of Semifinal Game 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal Game 2 at Highest Remaining Seed – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

Site: Higher Seeds for all games

Admission

$10.00 - Adults

$2.00 - Students and seniors with ID

Free - Children under 12

For the most up to date information on this year's championship, follow the Empire 8 Conference on X and Instagram (@Empire8).

The 2025 Season In Photos….