Charleston Selected as 2025 CAA Volleyball Favorite; North Carolina A&T’s Ross Named Preseason Player of the Year
Dylan Smith
RICHMOND, Va. – Fresh off the program’s second conference title, Charleston was tabbed as the 2025 CAA Preseason Volleyball favorite, while North Carolina A&T outside hitter
Tyne Ross garnered Preseason Player of the Year honors, as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Just four points separated the top three teams in the league’s preseason poll, with the defending champion Cougars emerging on top with five first-place votes and 92 total points. Hofstra (90) was picked second with four first-place nods, while Towson (88) and North Carolina A&T (68) earned one apiece. Stony Brook proceeded the Aggies in fifth, followed by William & Mary, Northeastern and Elon. UNCW, Campbell and Hampton rounded out the coaches’ poll.
Reigning CAA Champion Charleston went 25-9 last season with a 15-3 mark in league play. The Cougars reloaded their roster after seeing five players graduate, including All-CAA First Team selections Emily Banitt and Caitlyn Callahan. Despite seeing nearly 1,300 kills graduate, Cougars Head Coach
Jason Kepner bolstered his team with a mix of players in Georgia transfer
Emma Duffield, East Carolina standout
Izzy Marinelli and two-time NJCAA All-American outside hitter
Rosa Brencic. The trio will join several returners, including preseason honorable mention
Deanna Dollar, and a pair of established Division II setters in
Lauren Dow and
Lainee Mack, to protect its conference crown.
North Carolina A&T’s
Ross is the first underclassman to earn Preseason Player of the Year honors since 2018, when Hofstra junior outside hitter Laura Masciullo earned the recognition. The Aggies’ outside hitter smashed the program record with 425 kills in her first collegiate season. Ross topped the CAA leaderboard, ranked 34
th in the nation and paced all freshmen with 4.34 kills per set in 2024. The sophomore outside hitter will look to lead the Aggies back to the postseason after guiding her squad to a berth in the CAA Championship and an appearance in the NIVC Tournament.
Hofstra will look to Preseason All-CAA Team selections
Clara Bal and
Izadora Stedile once again, as the duo ranked top 10 in the league in scoring with 3.67 and 3.62 points per set, respectively, in 2024. The Pride’s Stedile also found herself among the conference’s top defensive players with 406 digs across 107 sets last season.
Towson, which secured the second-most wins in the CAA last season with a 24-6 record, will look to get back on top of the conference after winning four of the last six league titles. Preseason All-CAA Team selections
Erin Brothers and
Sydney Stewart will carry the load for the Tigers in 2025. Stewart shined on the back line with 508 digs, good for third in the CAA. Despite missing the first 12 games due to injury, Brothers steadily earned 98 kills and 56 blocks for the Tigers across 65 sets.
The 2025 Volleyball season begins on Friday, August 29, with 10 of the league’s 11 teams seeing action on opening night. The CAA Volleyball Championship will welcome the top six teams to SECU Arena in Towson, Md., on November 20-22.
2025 CAA VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| Charleston (5) |
92 |
| Hofstra (4) |
90 |
| Towson (1) |
88 |
| North Carolina A&T (1) |
68 |
| Stony Brook |
62 |
| William & Mary |
55 |
| Northeastern |
47 |
| Elon |
34 |
| UNCW |
30 |
| Campbell |
29 |
| Hampton |
10 |
2025 CAA VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON AWARDS
CAA Preseason Player of the Year
Tyne Ross, North Carolina A&T
Preseason All-CAA Team
| Player |
Team |
Pos. |
Class |
Hometown |
| Clara Bal |
Hofstra |
RS |
Sr. |
Riom, France |
| Erin Brothers |
Towson |
MB |
Sr. |
Grove City, Ohio |
| Olivia Esposito |
William & Mary |
MB |
Sr. |
Carversville, Pa. |
| Cameron Lanier |
Elon |
MB/RS |
Jr. |
Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| Kali Moore |
Stony Brook |
OH |
Sr. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| Tyne Ross |
North Carolina A&T |
OH |
So. |
Cameron, N.C. |
| Nicole Smith |
William & Mary |
OH |
Sr. |
Peachtree City, Ga. |
| Izadora Stedile |
Hofstra |
OH |
Sr. |
Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil |
| Sydney Stewart |
Towson |
DS/L |
Sr. |
Elizabethtown, Pa. |
| Gwen Wolkow |
Campbell |
OH |
Sr. |
Downers Grove, Ill. |
Honorable Mentions: Caroline Berlekamp, MB, Elon; Deanna Dollar, OH, Charleston; Maddie Lambers, MB, Campbell; Valentina Meirelles, OH, Northeastern; Leonor Polezzi, S, North Carolina A&T; Catherine Rucker, MB, Elon