UTICA, NY - The Utica University volleyball team will begin its 2023 season at the Oswego State Tournament on Friday, September 1 at 4 p.m against Wheaton College (Mass.). The team will then face Marywood University on Saturday, September 2 at 3 p.m. and Oswego State at 5 p.m.
 
Follow Along: Oswego State will provide live stats for the entire tournament here. Check back for live video links here. 
 
Historic 2022: The Pioneers are coming off their best season in program history accomplishing feats such as first postseason win, reaching the Empire 8 Semifinals, most wins in a regular season, and the first winning season in program history. Utica will look to keep their winning ways intact and make another deep postseason run.
 
Looking at the 2023 Schedule: The team will be on the road a lot this season with four tournaments and just six home matches. Utica's four tournaments will be the most it has had in one season since the 2018 campaign. The Oswego State Tournament will take place on September 1 and 2 with Utica facing Wheaton College (Mass.), Marywood University, and Oswego State. On September 6, the team will travel to face SUNY Cobleskill before attending the Penn State Behrend Invitational on September 8 and 9 facing Grove City College, Westminster College (PA), Penn State Behrend, and Alfred State College. Utica's home opener will be in its First Responders Match on September 13 against SUNY Poly. The team will then head to the Clarks Summit Quad-Match on September 16 and face Clarks Summit University, Penn State Abington, and Penn State Wilkes-Barre. The following weekend the Pioneers head to Washington, D.C. for the Worthington Classic where they will face Gallaudet University, Marymount University, an opponent to be determined, and Arcadia University on September 22 and 23. Utica will face SUNY Delhi in a home-and-home before beginning Empire 8 conference play. The team will have six-straight conference matches from September 29 to October 21 before traveling to Delhi on October 24 and then facing St. John Fisher University, Nazareth University, and SUNY Poly on a three game road trip. The Pioneers will conclude their regular season at home against SUNY Cobleskill on Friday, November 3 with senior night.
 
At the Helm: Josh Higby will return for his third season as head coach and is eager to continue success after a historic 2022 season. Sydney Pellman will assist him in her first season with the Pioneers after playing at SUNY Poly and Monroe Community College for two years each.
 
I Got One More in Me: Standout Eleanor Cepiel (West Sand Lake, NY/Academy of Holy Names) is back for another season after setting numerous program records last season and looks to lead the team back into the Empire 8 Tournament. Last season she became the first Pioneer to earn First Team All-Conference honors and adds this to her Third Team eam and Sportswoman of the Year accolades. In 2022 she led the conference with 363 kills, 3.36 kills per set, 398 points, and 3.98 points per set while also ranking eighth with 3.41 digs per game. Cepiel also etched herself in the Pioneer record books with her kills and kills per set ranking the best in a single season in history and she ranks top-five in both categories all-time.
 
Need a Hand?: Madison Maggiore (Orangeburg, NY/Tappan Zee) returns for her fourth season and is sure to help set up scoring for Utica after tallying 759 assists last season which ranked fifth in the Empire 8 and fourth best in a single season in Pioneer history. The Orangeburg, NY native is also exceptional in the service game setting a program record and Empire 8 leading 73 last season.  
 
Ready to Kill it: Meghan Brennan (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) and Lauren Jones (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham) are ready to step up into larger roles after making immediate impacts last season. Brennan recorded 92 kills last season in 55 sets while Jones was phenomenal in the service game with 47 aces last season.
 
Supporting Cast: The Pioneers will have quite supporting cast with much of its core returning from last season including Abriana Wadley (Utica, NY/Proctor), Peyton Migliaccio (Suffern, NY/Suffern), Hannah Johnson (Murfreesboro, TN/Blackman), Caitlyn Esposito (Haddam, CT/Haddam-Killingworth), Jillian Hare (Adams Center, NY/South Jefferson), Dahlia Aguliera, Jada Anthony (West Nyack, NY/Clarkstown South), Nazelli Rodriguez (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady), and Olivia Prevett (Plymouth, MA/Rising Tide Charter). Wadley and Migliaccio will help spark the offense while Johnson and Hare bring their talents with serving. Esposito is a defensive anchor that brings the energy while Aguliera, Anthony, Rodriguez, and Prevett all look to take a leap in their second season with the team.
 
New Faces, Right Place: Utica will have plenty of new faces joining the team with six freshmen and one transfer junior. Cassi Wageman will bring her two years of collegiate experience to the team after stints at Montclair State University and SUNY Adirondack. The incoming freshmen include Laini Silverstein (Glen Head, NY/North Shore), Trinity Bailey (West Winfield, NY/Mount Markham), Samantha Albright (Lockport, NY/Royalton Hartland), Megan Wright (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community), Katie Mattes (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs), and Livya Leider (Homestead, FL/Felix Varela) and are filled with talent and high school achievements. Silverstein boasts All-State, All-County, All-Conference, All-Tournament, and Volleyball Team MVP in high school. Bailey is also full of accolades with All-CNY Small School Player of the Year, CSC Division 2 MVP, All CNY Player, All Mohawk Valley Player, Mount Markham Season MVP honors. Albright has Most Improved Player, and two-time MVP on her resume while Wright boasts two First Team All-League honors including a unanimous decision, All-State Honorable Mention and was selected to the Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star Team. Mattes brings her experience as she was a part of both the NET and Saratoga Volleyball Clubs and won MVP in high school and had 119 kills, 16 blocks, 16 aces, and a 91 service percentage in her most recent club season. Leider wraps up the impressive incoming class with 1st Team All-Conference, 2nd Team All-Conference, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year including an incredible 363 digs her senior year which ranked ninth in Florida Class 6A.
 
Key Losses: Kurstan Martin (Owego, NY/Tioga), Krystell Pappas (Owensboro, KY/Owensboro), and McKenna LaPorte (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) are all key losses from last season with each leaving their impacts on the program. Martin was a part of the Pioneers for five seasons and racked up 485 kills in her career including being second on the team with 127 last season. Pappas was a phenomenal two-way star as she was fantastic at all facets of the game from digs, assists, kills and serving aces. The Owensboro, Kentucky native is taking her talents to the University of Evansville and now competing at the NCAA Division I level. LaPorte was a four year veteran and had a breakout year last season with a career-high in sets played, kills, assists, and service aces with a whopping 34.
 
Scouting Wheaton: The Lyons went 11-15 with a 2-7 NEWMAC conference record last season and played their best on their home court with an 8-6 record. It will be the first time in program history that Wheaton and Utica will square off. The Lyons were effective on offense with 1073 kills, 245 aces, 1310 digs. The core of Wheaton is back and should have no problem generating plenty of points as it had success in offense, defense, and serving. Annah Shaheen and Hollis Hanson return after each turning in more than 159 points and 110 kills last season. The Lyons defensive anchor Sophie Wilhelm is back for another campaign after recording 351 digs which was nearly 200 more than anyone else on the team. Julia Wingler and Hanson are terrific blockers with each recording more than 50 in 2022. 
 
Looking at Marywood: The Pacers sported a 14-17 record last season and went 2-4 in conference play last season and dominated at home with a 9-5 record. The team returns to Oswego after topping the Lakers in three sets in the team's final match last season. The Pacers lead the all-time series 2-0 and it will be the first time the programs face each other since 2016. Marywood has an interesting roster makeup with a perfect mix of veterans and underclassmen who come in looking to contribute immediately. The team will miss Shannon Korr who led the team with 333 points last season, yet Mikayla Meek was second on the Pacers with 276 points including 208 kills, 501 assists, and 55 serving aces and will fill the gap just fine. Casey Hagerstrom, Libby Smith, and Karli Boyer all return as upperclassmen and all ranked top-six on the team in points and kills so the Marywood offense should show no signs of slowing down. 
 
Oswego State Preview: The Lakers turned in a strong season with a 17-11 overall record and a 5-4 SUNYAC record in which the team fell in three sets to SUNY Geneseo in the opening round of the SUNYAC Championships. Oswego was flawless at home with a perfect 10-0 home record and fell in its last regular season matchup to Marywood University 3-0. The Lakers return their core with Cara Simplicio, Grace Taylor, and Georgia Farry all returning for another season. In 2022, the trio each accumulated over 254.5 points and 165 kills with Simplicio and Taylor each compiling more than 38 service aces. Defensively, Ally Natale and Kaylee Troy return after each compiling more than 244 digs in 2022 and will anchor the Lakers.

Up Next: The team will remain on the road and head to face SUNY Cobleskill on Wednesday, September 6 at 7 p.m.