LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its women's volleyball preseason coaches' poll on Thursday afternoon. West Chester was picked to finish sixth in the PSAC East by the league's coaches ahead of the start of the 2025 campaign.
Shepherd captured the top spot with four first-place votes, followed by East Stroudsburg and Shippensburg with two first-place votes each. Bloomsburg was voted fourth, followed by Millersville, Lock Haven, and Kutztown.
In the PSAC West, Gannon claimed the top spot with four first-place votes, followed by Indiana (Pa.) with three to place second in the poll. Seton Hill third followed Clarion in fourth with one first-place vote, while Pitt-Johnstown, Edinboro, Slippery Rock, and California (Pa.) rounded out the preseason poll.
West Chester will look for a resurgent year in 2025 after missing the PSAC Tournament for the second year in a row last season. The Golden Rams return a number of valuable players, including PSAC East All-Conference honoree
Zoe Haines (York, Pa./York Suburban), who led the team in kills with 280 while ranking second in blocks with 55. The junior recorded 16 double-digit kill matches in 2024, including a career-best 20-kill effort in a five-set win over Lock Haven last November. West Chester also returns both of its setters from a year ago in
Lacie Brown (Cochranville, Pa./Avon Grove) and
Megan St. Jean (Eaton, Co./Eaton), who ranked first and second on the team in both assists (797 and 101) and aces (35 and 25), respectively.
West Chester will get its season underway on September 5 in Hollinger Field House against Georgian Court on day one of the PSAC East Kickoff Tournament before hosting Dominican and Charleston on Saturday, September 6. The Golden Rams will open league play at home on Wednesday, September 24, vs Millersville, beginning at 7 p.m.
