Geoff Schneider

Women's Volleyball Opens 2026 Campaign At Tony Banner Memorial Tournament

8/27/2026 10:00:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mary Margaret Johnson, Director of Athletics Communications | mmjohnso@daemen.edu

WELCOME BACK, WILDCATS!
The Daemen University women's volleyball team finally hits the court this weekend! The Wildcats will play four matches over two days at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament hosted by Clarion University on Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29. Daemen kicks off the season with an 11:30 AM match up against Shippensburg and ends Friday with a 7 PM match against host Clarion. Saturday's slate includes a 12 PM match against Franklin Pierce and a 5:30 PM finisher against West Virginia Wesleyan. All matches are played at the Waldo S. Tippen Gymnasium in Clarion, Pa.

SOPHOMORE SEASON FOR SHEBENECK
2026 marks the second year for head coach Kaysie Shebeneck. In her rookie season at Daemen in 2025, the Wildcats finished with a 12-14 overall record and 8-4 record in East Coast Conference play, only dropping conference matches to the top two teams in the ECC, Mercy and Molloy. Daemen advanced to the ECC Tournament for the seventh straight season where they fell 1-3 to the eventual runners-up Molloy Lions.

THE 2026 SQUAD
Boasting a roster of 17 this season, 10 players return from the 2025 squad, including heavy-hitting juniors Payton Gaylor (Bowmanville, Ont.) and Avery Craig (Tomball, Tex.) as well as seniors Kate Trueblood (Granger, Ind.), Molly Ryan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md.). Junior libero Jarielys Giraud (Orlando, Fla.) returns to anchor the defense again this season. Shebeneck added seven newcomers to the 2026 squad that will look to make an immediate impact. Transfers Mina Faw (Williamburg, Va.) and Jolie Faw (Williamsburg, Va.) bring Division I experience after spending their freshman campaign at Norfolk State, while Tyler Junior College product Dayden Dyess (Wylie, Tex.) brings the height as the fifth player on the team over six feet tall. Incoming freshmen Etana Murray (Binghamton, N.Y.), Audrey Johnson (Mequon, Wisc.), Peyton Lowes (Northville, Mich.) and Mollie Berry (Evergreen Park, Ill.) have shown out during the preseason and look to make their way into the starting lineup this season.

ECC PRESEASON POLL
The Wildcats were picked third in the 2026 ECC preseason poll, released last week. The reigning conference champions Mercy University Mavericks earned all seven first-place votes and finished atop the poll with 49 points. Additionally, Mercy's junior outside hitter Grace Dilena was named the Preseason Player of the Year. The Wildcats garnered 37 total points in the poll, just one point behind second-place Molloy University (38 points). D'Youville University (29), Roberts Wesleyan University (15), St. Thomas Aquinas College (14) and Queens College (14) round out the rest of the conference.

UP NEXT
Daemen will travel to Indiana University (Pa.) next weekend (Sept. 4-5) to play in the Crimson Hawk Classic where they will take on Lake Erie and West Liberty on Friday and Ashland and IUP on Saturday.

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
The Wildcats and Raiders square up on the court for the third time in program history and the second time in three years, meeting at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament for the first time since 2023. Shippensburg holds a 2-0 all-time record over Daemen, beating the Wildcats 3-2 in the match in 2023. The Raiders are coming off a solid 2025 campaign in which they went 20-9 overall and 12-2 in PSAC play. Their season came to an end with a 2-3 upset to Pitt-Johnstown in the PSAC quarterfinals. Picked first in the PSAC Eastern Division preseason coaches poll, Shippensburg returns 13 returners from its 2025 roster, including senior libero Shay Kolivoski, the two-time reigning PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the year and 2025 AVCA Division II All-America Honorable Mention selection.

SCOUTING CLARION
Holding a 6-0 all-time record over the Wildcats, Daemen and Clarion meet for the second year in a row, this time back at Clarion's home court after the Wildcats hosted the Golden Eagles in the Wildcat Classic tournament last year. Coming off a 2025 campaign that saw a 12-16 overall record and 6-8 record in PSAC play, the Golden Eagles were selected fourth in the PSAC Western Division preseason coaches poll for the 2026 season. While the 2025 roster featured primarily freshmen and sophomores, the 2026 Clarion team is a more veteran unit featuring six players that started more than half of last year's matches. The Golden Eagles return their top four attackers a year ago in Raegan Stader, Claire Bickett, Finley Kearney and Natalie Karrick.

SCOUTING FRANKLIN PIERCE
The Wildcats and Ravens meet on the court for the fifth time in program history and the second year in a row, with Daemen holding a 4-0 all-time record over FPU. The Wildcats have won the last three match ups in straight 3-0 sets. Franklin Pierce is coming off 2025 season that saw an 8-13 overall record and 4-5 record in NE10 play. Featuring a predominately young team with 14 freshman, the Ravens return Adrianna Reay, a junior outside hitter who finished with triple-digit kills a season ago.

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
Playing in the Mountain East Conference, Saturday's match marks just the second time that Daemen and West Virginia Wesleyan have played, with the first time being a 3-1 win for the Bobcats in 2005. The Bobcats are coming off an impressive 20-9 campaign in 2025 that ended in the MEC semifinals at the hands of West Virginia State in a 0-3 upset. Three players totaled 250+ kills a season ago and all return for WVWC this season, led by senior middle blocker Bhrooke Axe along with sophomore outside hitter MacKenna Halfin and senior middle blocker Emily Denison.

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