NEW LONDON, Conn. –

The Coast Guard Academy volleyball team kicks off its 2025 season with a trip to Virginia to face off with Catholic University tonight Friday August 29th before facing Wisconsin-Whitewater and the tournament host Christopher Newport on Saturday!

"This season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting and challenging yet." said coach Mark Thomas, who enters his sixth year at the helm. "We've built the hardest non-conference schedule since I've been here, and every match in the NEWMAC will be a battle against talented opponents." 

The tough non-conference schedule will rear its head not just early down in Virginia, but throughout the season. The Bears will face 2024 GNAC runner-up Johnson & Wales, perennial CNE contender Roger Williams, and three strong NESCAC programs: Trinity, Wesleyan, and Conn College.

In the NEWMAC, after a sixth place finish last season, the Bears have been ranked 5th in the NEWMAC preseason poll. 

"Our team has worked hard to create a culture we're truly proud of: one defined by passion, selflessness, and support for one another." said coach Thomas. "With great depth at every position from both our returners and incoming class, I'm eager to see that culture shine as we compete."

In May, the volleyball program graduated three key players: Libero Kaela France, and Pins Carlee Lingle and Shannon Shaw. A strong group of returners and newcomers will look to fill their void. The returners are led by senior captains: defensive specialist Laila Baameur(Bakersfield, CA), Pin Sarah Somer(Cary, NC), and Middle Mack Boose(Camden, NC). Rounding out the senior class is defensive specialist Vickie Mancine(Chicago, IL).

The largest class in the program is the junior class, with seven. A pair of juniors Sam Ventimiglia(Key West, FL) and Eloise Shirley(Rock Island, IL), along with senior Mack Boose will anchor the middle blocker position for the Bears. Shirley will look to improve upon her sophomore coming out party last year in which she became one of the team's most dominant offensive players. Pin attacker and all around player Abby Schweitzer(Emmaus, PA) played in 14 matches last year and Sophia Rosenberg(Hershey, PA) figures to see time at both setter and pin. Three junior defensive specialists; Courtney Shire(Cape May, NJ), Julia Gallinger(Garrison, NY), and Mary Grace Delfino(Alpharetta, GA) will look to anchor the back line for CGA. Shire appeared in every match last season and recorded 152 digs, Gallinger appeared in 25 with 116 digs. 

The sophomore class is just two deep but figures to be very impactful. After missing the first seven matches of her freshman season due to injury, pin attacker Amelia Matson(Mililani, HI) was dominant in her freshman season, trailing just Shaw in kills. Fellow sophomore pin Dylan Elferdink(Hernando Beach, FL) appeared in eight matches last year and had key moments in wins over Mitchell and Rutgers-Newark. 

The volleyball program will welcome six athletes from the class of 2029 into the mix. Ava Ahokovi(Honolulu, HI), Alaina Corbin(Fredericksburg, MD), Holly Davis(Sisters, OR), Corey Lemmer(San Francisco, CA), Maddie Oates(Rome, GA), and Bella Samaniego(Yucaipa, CA)

Good luck to our women's volleyball team as they begin their season this weekend!