No. 1-Seeded Women's Volleyball Begins Postseason Journey Against No. 8-Seeded Alfred In E8 Tournament

No. 1 St. John Fisher (26-1 overall, 11-0 Empire 8 reg. season)

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

Career Record: 318-267 (297-216 at Fisher)

Statistical Leaders: Points (Kaylene Noble, 365.5), Kills (Noble, 340), Hitting % (Ana Gutman, .342), Assists (Reilly Morrow, 823), Service Aces (Lydia Fraser, 67), Digs (Kiera Hartpence, 301), Total Blocks (Gutman, 73)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

No. 8 Alfred (12-17 overall, 4-7 Empire 8 reg. season)

Head Coach: Mike Honeycutt (4th season)

Career Record: 46-53

Statistical Leaders: Points (Taylor Malone, 385.5), Kills (Malone, 342), Hitting % (Cara Bratthauar, .222), Service Aces (Meeghan Peterson, 62), Digs (Madalynn McGowan, 337), Total Blocks (Bratthauar, 57)

• Roster
• Coaching Staff
• Schedule
• Season Stats

How They Got Here

St. John Fisher: The Cardinals lost their first match of the season in four sets to nationally ranked Ithaca and didn’t lose again, ripping off 26 victories with 21 sweeps. They swept 10 of their 11 conference opponents en route to earning the top overall seed for the E8 Tournament for the sixth time in program history. 

Alfred: The Saxons finished the season 12-17 overall and 4-7 in the Empire 8, earning the No. 8 seed for the conference tournament. 

With A Win… 

St. John Fisher would… set the program record for most wins (27) in a season during the rally scoring era (2001-present)… improve to 12-3 in the E8 Tournament since 2017… improve to 36-2 since a four-set loss to Nazareth last October… record its 19th consecutive win over an E8 team (including postseason)… improve to 12-11 all-time in E8 Tournament games… extend its winning streak to 27 matches. 

St. John Fisher vs. Alfred History

Series Snapshot: The Cardinals own a 23-1 record in matches against Alfred since 2005. 

Postseason Meetings: Saturday's match will be the third postseason meeting between the teams. They split the first two E8 Tournament matches, with Alfred upsetting top-seeded Fisher in 2023 at Varsity Gym. 

Last Meeting: The Cardinals ended the regular season with a four-set victory over Alfred last Saturday. Kaylene Noble led the Cardinals with 16 kills while hitting .344, while Ana Gutman had eight kills and a season-high seven total blocks. 

20 Things About Fisher

1 - The Cardinals enter the postseason with the second-longest active winning streak in NCAA Division III (26 matches). 

2 - The Cardinals’ 26-match winning streak is the longest in program history during the rally scoring era. 

3 - The Cardinals need one more victory to set a program record for wins in the rally scoring era (27). 

4 - The Cardinals have 21 sweeps this season, tied for 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 during the regular season. 

6 - Head coach Kelly Greapentrog surpassed 300 career victories earlier this season. She has recorded 297 of her 318 wins at St. John Fisher.

7 - The Cardinals wrapped up their sixth unbeaten E8 regular season last weekend with their win over Alfred. 

8 - Junior outside hitter Kaylene Noble recently surpassed 1,000 career kills and had 340 on the season, the second most in the Empire 8. She’s 25th in the nation in kills per set, averaging 4.10. 

9 - Noble sports the highest hitting percentage (.328) of her collegiate career entering the postseason. She’s hit at least .300 in 18 of the Cardinals’ 27 matches. 

10 - Junior middle blocker Ana Gutman leads the Empire 8 and ranks 35th in DIII with a .342 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high 73 total blocks. 

11 - Freshman outside hitter Kaylna Dannenberg has been one of the top rookies in the country this season. She has nearly 300 kills with a .254 hitting percentage to go along with 216 digs, 32 service aces and 26 total blocks.

12 - Dannenberg ranks second in the conference in total points (336) and kills per set (3.47).

13 - Senior setter Reilly Morrow ranks 10th in the nation in assists per set, averaging 10.42. She has 823 total assists, the most in the conference. 

14 - Morrow has 2,642 career assists, the fifth-most in Fisher history. 

15 - Senior libero Kiera Hartpence has 1,514 career digs, good for eighth in Fisher history. 

16 - Sophomore outside hitter Lydia Fraser has 67 service aces, tied for the ninth most by a Fisher player in a single season. 

17 - The Cardinals are eighth in the country in team hitting percentage (.259).

18 - Fisher has won 18 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 Tournament Participating Teams
No. 1 – St. John Fisher University
No. 2 – Hartwick College
No. 3 – SUNY Brockport

No. 4 – SUNY Geneseo
No. 5 – Houghton University 
No. 6 – Russell Sage College
No. 7 – Utica University

No. 8 – Alfred University 

2025 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Championship Schedule

Saturday, November 8 – First Round 
No. 8 Alfred at No. 1 St. John Fisher – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

No. 7 Utica at No. 2 Hartwick – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

No. 6 Russell Sage at No. 3 SUNY Brockport – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

No. 5 Houghton at No. 4 SUNY Geneseo – 1 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS

Wednesday, November 12 – Semifinals (at Higher Seed)
Winner of St. John Fisher/Alfred vs. Winner of SUNY Geneseo/Houghton – 6 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Winner of Hartwick/Utica vs. Winner of Brockport/Russell Sage – 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….