The 11th-ranked Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team concluded their historic 2024 campaign on Wednesday night in the NCAA Quarterfinals at the Cregger Center in Salem, Va.
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2025 W&L Volleyball Season Preview

Generals Receive 11 First Place Votes, Picked to Win ODAC Title

8/26/2025 2:00:00 PM

LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee University women's volleyball team looks to build off their success during their 2024 campaign as they enter the season as the favorite to raise the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) crown for the fourth time in the last five seasons.

The Generals won their second-straight and 20th overall ODAC Championship last season after rallying past Virginia Wesleyan in five sets. In the NCAA Tournament, the Blue and White rolled through the first three rounds on their way to the first Regional Championship in program history with a three-set win over Christopher Newport University before appearing in the National Quarterfinals for the first time. They posted a 35-3 overall record with a perfect 12-0 mark in conference play, only dropping one set to a conference opponent in the regular season. 

W&L was tabbed as the preseason favorite by the leagues' head coaches, receiving 11 of the 12 first place votes and collecting 121 points. Virginia Wesleyan was picked second with 100 points while Bridgewater was slotted third in 97 points. Lynchburg picked up the final first place vote and 90 points in fourth with Randolph-Macon rounding out the top five with 83 points.

Head Coach Bryan Snyder '95 enters his 26th season with the Blue and White, leading the team to a 650-205 overall record, 16 ODAC Championships and one regional title. Snyder ranks seventh in wins among active Division III volleyball coaches as he has racked up 691 total victories in 27 seasons.

Bryan Snyder '95
Bryan Snyder '95

2025 ODAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

 

  1. Washington and Lee University (11) 121 pts.
  2. Virginia Wesleyan University 100 pts.
  3. Bridgewater College 97 pts.
  4. University of Lynchburg (1) 90 pts.
  5. Randolph-Macon College 83 pts.
  6. Roanoke College 75 pts.
  7. Averett University 52 pts.
  8. Guilford College 47 pts.
  9. Eastern Mennonite University 43 pts.
  10. Randolph College 38 pts.
  11. Shenandoah University 35 pts.

12. Hollins University 11 pts.

National Poll

 

The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released their 2025 Division III Preseason Poll on Tuesday, August 10th with the Generals checking in at No. 9, their highest-preseason ranking in program history. Three-time defending National Champion, Juniata, received 79 of the 86 first place votes to top the opening poll of the season. UW-Wisconsin, 2024 National Runner-up, was slated second after receiving four first place votes while Hope was ranked third. Johns Hopkins secured the final three first place votes to be slotted fourth with Emory following the Blue Jays in fifth. UW-Oshkosh followed Emory in sixth with La Verne in seventh and MIT holding the eighth spot in the poll while Trinity (Texas) followed the Generals to round out the top ten.

The Blue and White will square off with two ranked teams this season including No. 4 Emory and No. 21 Christopher Newport during the 2025 campaign. 

The entire AVCA Top-25 can be found HERE.

We have had a productive preseason thus far, and there is a great deal of excitement within our program to see what we will become as a team this year. We have depth at all positions, and our practice sessions have been extremely competitive. I am very encouraged by our defensive execution thus far, and we have been solid on first contact as well. The offense always takes a little longer to figure out and get everyone on the same page from a rhythm and timing standpoint, but we seem to be making little steps forward each day. If we continue to practice with the same level of effort and commitment to improving each day, I think we will be in position to achieve many of our goals later this fall.
Head Coach Bryan Snyder (26th Season)
Washington and Lee University Women's Volleyball kicked off Old Dominion Athletic Conference play at Hollins University
Washington and Lee University Women's Volleyball takes down Carnegie Mellon in five sets at the Randolph-Macon Quad.
Emery Goerig
Penelope Quiles

Schedule Preview

The 2025 campaign begins in Danville, Kentucky, at the Colonel Invitational (August 29–30), where the Generals will meet Wilmington, Asbury, Hanover, and host Centre College in the opening weekend of action.

The following week brings the excitement back to Lexington with the W&L Invitational (September 5–6). Across two days of action at Holekamp Gym and Doremus Gymnasium, the Generals will welcome programs such as Mary Washington, St. Mary’s (Md.), and Southern Virginia.

Conference play quickly follows, beginning at Roanoke on September 10, before W&L travels north for the Franklin & Marshall Tri-Match (September 13) against the Diplomats and Keystone College. The Generals then face a string of ODAC road tests at Randolph, Lynchburg, and Bridgewater before closing September at the Mary Washington Tri-Match with contests against Mary Washington and Gettysburg.

October features several marquee weekends, including the W&L Tri-Match (October 3–4) that brings Averett and Christopher Newport to Holekamp Gym. A road trip to New Jersey for the Stevens Tri-Match (October 11) adds tough non-conference competition in Stevens and Scranton. The remainder of the month features ODAC clashes against Eastern Mennonite, Randolph-Macon, Virginia Wesleyan, Hollins, and Shenandoah.

The regular season concludes with pivotal contests in November. W&L visits Christopher Newport (Nov. 1) before traveling south to the Emory National Invitational (Nov. 7–8) in Atlanta, where they will face Berry, No. 4 Emory, and Ithaca.

The ODAC Tournament follows on November 11–15 with NCAA Regional play set for November 20–22. Should the Generals advance, the NCAA National Championship rounds will take place December 3–6 in Bloomington, Illinois .

To view the entire W&L women's volleyball schedule, click HERE.

FloSports
Beginning in 2025-26, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s five-year media rights agreement with FloSports ensures that all ODAC and W&L home contests will stream live on FloCollege with a subscription.

How to Watch

 

Beginning in 2025-26, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s five-year media rights agreement with FloSports ensures that all ODAC and W&L home contests will stream live on FloCollege with a subscription. Games will also be available on demand immediately after their conclusion.

FloSports/FloCollege can be accessed through the FloSports app or on major streaming platforms, including Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and Google Chromecast which  provides access to FloSports’ full library of more than 40,000 events across 25 sports. Subscriptions can be purchased here and are available in two options HERE:

  • Monthly: $19.99/month
  • Annual: $107.88/year ($8.99/month)
     

Fans with an ODAC institution .edu email address are eligible for discounted pricing:

  • Monthly: $9.99/month
  • Annual: $71.88/year ($5.99/month)
     

For those who can’t watch live or do not want to subscribe to FloCollege, free replays will be available on Generalssports.com/live beginning two days after each game. For example, a Saturday contest will be available starting at midnight on Monday morning.

Admission to regular-season home games is free, while ODAC semifinal and championship games and any NCAA postseason contests will require paid admission regardless of host institution.

Fans planning to attend should review W&L’s tailgating and parking operations HERE.

Key Returners

Junior Libero Vivi Vasquez returns to the court for the Generals after a breakout sophomore campaign. Vasquez played in 126 sets across 37 matches, registering a single-season program and ODAC record with 679 digs. She had double-digit digs in 35 matches last season including a program record 42 digs against Carnegie Mellon. Her performances earned her First Team All-ODAC, First Team All-Region and Second Team All-American honors while being named the Region 6 Player of the Year. She ranks 16th in program history in career digs with 1,063.

Senior Middle Blocker Emery Goerig returns to the middle for the Blue and White this season. During her junior campaign, she played in 121 sets in the team's 38 matches. She registered 158 kills, the fourth-most on the team, with a .374 hitting percentage. She was a force in the middle, leading the team with 77 total blocks, seven solo and 70 assisted. Senior Penelope Quiles will be a top option as a defensive specialist for the Generals this season. Last year, Quiles recorded 316 digs with 2.49 per set. She posted double-digit digs in 13 matches last season while recording a season-high 20 digs in a four-set win over Bridgewater. Over her career, Quiles has played in 78 matches, recording 630 digs with 45 service aces. 

Riley Debiec
Ryan Taylor '26
Grace Mitchener

Team Captains

On the Court: Riley Debiec was named a captain for the second-straight season. A Potomac, Md. native had an impressive junior season, registering 359 kills, the third-most on the team, while averaging 2.94 per set and achieving a .294 hitting percentage. She played in 122 sets and 36 matches and was selected to the All-ODAC Second Team. She posted a season-high 23 kills in a win over Maryville while recording double-digit kills in 13 matches last season. Over her career she has played in 97 matches and 345 sets, recording 896 kills and 162 total blocks.

Off the Court: Debiec, a biochemistry major, has earned multiple W&L Scholar Athlete and Academic All-ODAC honors while being selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Women's Volleyball Academic All-District teams in 2023 & 2024. Debiec volunteers for the Rockbridge  Area Relief Association (RARA) and the W&L Campus Kitchen. She spent the summer of 2025 working as a SCHEP Intern as well as a West Virginia Health Right Volunteer.

On the Court: Senior Ryan Taylor was named a captain for the Generals this season. Taylor only played in six matches last season after missing most of the season with an injury. She registered 15 kills with a .302 hitting percentage while recording 21 blocks. During her sophomore campaign, she ranked second on the team with 54 blocks and 0.98 blocks per set.

Off the Court: Taylor, a neuroscience major, has earned multiple W&L Scholar Athlete honors while being named to the Academic All-ODAC team three times. Taylor is a volunteer with Beyond Boundaries, Tennis for Fun and the Yellow Brick Road in Lexington. She spent the summer of 2025 as a W&L DART Research Fellow at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

On the Court: Junior outside hitter Grace Mitchener was named a captain for the 2025 season after an outstanding sophomore campaign. Mitchener reeled in handful awards, being named AVCA Second Team All-American, First Team All-Region, First Team All-ODAC, First Team All-State and being selected to the CSC Academic All-District Team. She was named to three All-Tournament teams and earned ODAC Player of the Week honors three times. Mitchener ranked second on the team last season with 442 kills, averaging 3.75 kills per set and achieving a .249 hitting percentage. She also ranked second on the team with 470 digs while registering 46 total blocks.

Off the Court: Mitchener, a Classics and Neuroscience double major, has earned a pair of W&L Scholar Athlete honors while being named Academic All-ODAC twice. She spent the summer of 2025 as a NeuroFit Intern.