Women's Volleyball Enters NCAA Tournament With More History In Mind

Setting The Scene

The St. John Fisher women's volleyball team will face the Wentworth Institute of Technology in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday at Johns Hopkins University's Goldfarb Gymnasium in Baltimore, Maryland. 

The winner would move on to face La Verne or Penn State Behrend in the second round at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Host Johns Hopkins faces Stevenson, and Lynchburg matches up William Smith in the regional's other two first-round games. 

The Cardinals, who've already made plenty of history this season, are seeking the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 1997. 

St. John Fisher (29-1, 11-0 Empire 8 regular season)

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

Greapentrog's Career Record: 321-267 (300-216 at Fisher)

St. John Fisher Empire 8 Conference Titles: 6 (two in a row)

St. John Fisher NCAA Tournament Appearances (including this year): 7

St. John Fisher NCAA Tournament Wins: 1

2025 Statistical Leaders: Points (Kaylene Noble, 411.0), Kills (Noble, 380), Hitting % (Ana Gutman, .344), Assists (Reilly Morrow, 920), Service Aces (Lydia Fraser, 73), Digs (Kiera Hartpence, 340), Block Solos (Gutman, 13), Total Blocks (Gutman, 77)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

Wentworth (23-4, 9-1 Conference of New England regular season)

Head Coach: Nick Baldecchi (3rd season)

Baldecchi's Career Record: 64-21

Wentworth Conference of New England Titles: 3

Wentworth NCAA Tournament Appearances (including this year): 3

Wentworth NCAA Tournament Wins: 0

2025 Statistical Leaders: Points (Emma Sanders, 354.5), Kills (Sanders, 298), Hitting Percentage (Riley Schoonmaker, .443), Assists (Olivia Vaughn, 694), Service Aces (Kate Koliopoulos, 47), Digs (Amanda Zweifler, 364), Block Solos (Ava Rocchio and Schoonmaker, 8), Total Blocks (Rocchio, 52)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

How They Got Here

St. John Fisher: The Cardinals (29-1) had the top seed for the Empire 8 Tournament and swept No. 8 Alfred, No. 4 Geneseo and No. 2 Hartwick to capture their sixth conference title and second in a row. 

The Cardinals lost their first match of the regular season in four sets to nationally ranked Ithaca and haven't lost since, as they've ripped off 29 victories in a row with 24 sweeps. They went undefeated (11-0) in conference regular-season play for the sixth time in program history to secure home-court advantage for the E8 Tournament. 

Wentworth: Wentworth (23-4) swept Gordon and Endicott on the way to its second Conference of New England title in the last three years. The Leopards have won 12 consecutive matches since losing in five sets to Endicott in five sets on Sept. 30. 

With A Win… 

St. John Fisher would… record its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1997… record its first NCAA Tournament win under head coach Kelly Greapentrog… snap a six-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament… win its 30th match in a row… reach 30 wins for the first time since 1993… improve to 39-2 in its last 41 matches. 

St. John Fisher vs. Wentworth History

Series Snapshot: Wednesday's match will mark the first meeting between St. John Fisher and Wentworth. 

NCAA Tournament History

NCAA Tournament Record: 1-6

Last Win: St. John Fisher swept the University of Rochester in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament. 

Fisher Cracks AVCA Poll For The First Time Ever

Fisher has earned a spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association/Taraflex Division III Top-25 poll for the first time in program history. The Cardinals, who had been receiving votes since September, cracked this week's poll at No. 24. 

AVCA Announces All-Region III Honors

Fisher claimed two of the three major American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division III All-Region III awards for the 2025 season. 

The AVCA named freshman outside hitter Kalyna Dannenberg Region III Rookie of the Year and head coach Kelly Greapentrog Region III Coach of the Year. 

The Cardinals had five total players earn All-Region honors, with Dannenberg, junior outside hitter Kaylene Noble and senior setter Reilly Morrow earning first-team spots. Senior libero Kiera Hartpence and junior middle blocker Ana Gutman garnered honorable mention honors.

• Dannenberg is the first player in Fisher history to win an AVCA major award. 
• Greapentrog is the first coach in program history to be named AVCA Region III Coach of the Year.
• Noble has earned AVCA All-Region honors three times, twice as a first-team selection. 
• Hartpence has earned All-Region honors twice, both times as an Honorable Mention. 
• Gutman has been named an All-Region performer three years in a row. 
• This marks Morrow's first time earning All-Region honors.

Empire 8 Announces Awards, All-Conference Teams

The Cardinals swept all four Empire 8 major awards and had a conference-high six players garner All-E8 honors for the 2025 season, the league office announced last Wednesday Wednesday. 

The E8 named Morrow Player of the Year, Hartpence Defensive Player of the Year and Dannenberg Rookie of the Year. The Cardinals' coaching staff earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors. 

Morrow, Hartpence, Dannenberg and Noble earned first-team All-Empire 8 recognition. Gutman and sophomore outside hitter Lydia Fraser landed second-team honors. 

Senior outside hitter Erika Edholm was selected as St. John Fisher's representative on the conference's "Tomorrow's Leaders Team." The Tomorrow's Leaders Team recognizes a student-athlete from each E8 team who has demonstrated leadership in competition, in the classroom and in their community.

• Morrow is the first setter and the fourth different player in Fisher history to be named E8 Player of the Year.
• Dannenberg is the 10th player in program history to earn E8 Rookie of the Year honors. The Cardinals have had the conference's Rookie of the Year in each of the last three seasons. 
• Hartpence has been named E8 Defensive Player of the Year twice in four collegiate seasons. 
• Greapentrog has led five E8 Coaching Staffs of the Year. 

Noble Named E8 Tournament MVP

After leading the Cardinals to their sixth conference title on Saturday, Noble joined Alea Steigerwald (3x), Kiana Walker and teammate Ana Gutman as the fourth different player in program history to earn E8 Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Over three matches in the tournament, she slammed 40 kills while hitting .317 and amassed 20 digs, three total blocks and three service aces. 

Noble began the tournament with 11 kills on a .358 hitting percentage and five digs in a three-set win over Alfred in the quarterfinals. Against Geneseo last Wednesday in the semifinals, Noble slammed 11 more kills with seven digs and two blocks to lead the Cardinals to another sweep.

Noble put together her most dominant performance of the tournament in Fisher's sweep of Hartwick in the championship, slamming a match-high 18 kills while hitting .353 with eight digs, two service aces and a block. 

Morrow and Hartpence also earned spots on the All-E8 Tournament Team. 

Morrow amassed 97 assists, 46 digs, five kills and four total blocks in the tournament. She had 30 assists and a career-high 20 digs as part of her eighth double-double of the year in the semifinals.

Hartpence recorded 39 digs, 17 assists and three service aces to help Fisher claim the E8 title for the second year in a row. She notched just the third double-double of her collegiate career against Geneseo, recording a season-high 10 assists with 13 digs. 

20 Things About Fisher

1 - The Cardinals own the second-longest active winning streak in all of the NCAA behind fellow DIII member East Texas Baptist (31 matches). 

2 - The Cardinals’ 29-match winning streak is the longest in program history during the rally scoring era (2001-present). 

3 - The Cardinals' 29 wins are their most in a season during the rally scoring era.  

4 - The Cardinals have 24 wins by via three-set sweep 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 - Greapentrog surpassed 300 career victories earlier this season. She has recorded 300 of her 321 wins at St. John Fisher.

7 - The Cardinals own a 38-2 record in their last 40 matches. 

8 - Noble has been nothing short of dominant all season, as she leads the conference kills (380) and ranks second in hitting percentage (.327) and points accounted for (411). She's 23rd nationally in kills per set (4.13) and 33rd in points per set (4.47). 

9 - Noble also has 244 digs, the second most on the team. She's produced eight double-doubles and has hit .300 or better in 20 of the Cardinals' 30 contests. 

10 - Gutman leads the Empire 8 and stands 33rd nationally with a .344 hitting percentage, as she's slammed 153 kills on 326 attacking attempts while committing just 41 errors while playing in 91 sets across 30 matches. The three-time AVCA All-Region selection also leads Fisher with 79 total blocks. 

11 - Dannenberg has amassed 383 total points while slamming 329 kills to go with 238 digs, 34 total blocks and 33 service aces this season. She enters the NCAA Tournament with a .256 hitting percentage and a team-high nine double-doubles. 

12 - Morrow paces the Empire 8 with a career-high 920 assists, averaging 10.45 per set, ninth in NCAA Division III. She ranks fifth in Fisher history with 2,739 career assists. Morrow tallied 49 assists in a sweep of Kean on Sept. 27, the second-most by a Division III setter in a three-set match this season. 

13 - Morrow, a three-time All-Empire 8 honoree, also has 198 digs, 42 service aces, 39 kills and 38 total blocks over 29 matches. She's produced eight double-doubles this season. 

14 - Hartpence leads the Cardinals with 340 digs (3.54 per set) and has committed just 15 service reception errors on a team-high 417 attempts. Hartpence also has 104 assists and 22 service aces this season. 

15 - Hartpence has 1,553 career digs, good for eighth in Fisher history. 

16 - Fraser, who's earned All-E8 honors in each of her first two collegiate seasons, has slammed 232 kills and amassed 73 service aces, the most in the conference. The 2024 E8 Rookie of the Year winner is the first Fisher player to record 70 or more service aces in a season since Amy Street tallied 76 in 2009. 

17 - The Cardinals are seventh in the country in team hitting percentage (.261). On the flip side, Fisher's opponents are hitting just 0.048, the lowest mark in DIII. 

18 - Fisher has won 21 consecutive matches against conference teams (including postseason). 

19 - Fisher has won six Empire 8 titles, all of them under Greapentrog's leadership. 

20 - The Cardinals are tied with now-Liberty League member Ithaca for the most E8 championships. Nazareth has the most with eight. 

The 2025 Season In Photos….