Games #16-17 vs. Chicago State University (NEC)
Info: Friday, Oct. 10 (6:00 PM) / Saturday, Oct. 11 (1:00 PM)
Syracuse, N.Y. | Ted Grant Court
Watch: NEC Front Row (Friday) / NEC Front Row (Saturday)
Live Stats: https://lemoynedolphins.com/sidearmstats/wvball/summary

Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team will host NEC foe Chicago State University in a pair of matchups at Ted Grant Court this weekend, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 10-11. Friday night's match is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. while Saturday is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start. 

Matchup History:
Chicago State currently leads Le Moyne, 2-0, all-time as the Cougars joined the NEC and won both of their matchups against the Dolphins in three sets last season. 

During their two contests last season, current sophomore outside hitter Jordyn Hamlin (Manahawkin, N.J. / Southern Regional) led the Dolphins' offense with 11 kills while junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) sat just behind with another 8 kills of her own. Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) and sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville Chili) sat atop the squad in assets with 17 and 16, respectively while junior libero/DS Haley Buescher (Toledo, O.H. / St. Ursula Academy) rounded out the attack with four service aces against the Cougars. 

Defensively, Buescher put up a team-high 15 digs through two matches while Lupton recorded three block assists against Chicago State. 

Dolphins' Season:
Le Moyne has played to a 1-14 record through 12 non-conference matches and a trio of matches against NEC opponents thus far this season.

Le Moyne opened the year in the Salt City Classic from Aug. 29-31 where they suffered losses at the hands of both Rider (1-3) and Syracuse (0-3) while downing Niagara (3-2) in their lone victory of the season this far. The team then traveled to Delaware to take part in a three-match set at the Blue Hen Invitational from Sept. 6-7. Le Moyne fell in their three matchups to Hampton (2-3), Virginia Tech (0-3), and host Delaware (0-3) before traveling to Maryland for the Navy invitational on Sept. 12-13. 

The Dolphins dropped their first match to Gardner-Webb (0-3) before rounding out the weekend with a loss at the hands of Navy in similar three-set fashion. The squad then returned home for a mid-week home match with Canisius on Sept. 17 where they fell in three sets before dropping both legs of the Syracuse Invitational against St. John's (0-3) and Siena (0-3) from Sept. 19-20. The Dolphins then dropped their non-conference finale on the road against Holy Cross, 3-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Most recently, Le Moyne dropped the opening series of their conference slate against LIU at home in three sets this past weekend before dropping a midweek matchup on the road against FDU (3-0) on Wednesday night.

Lupton sits leading Le Moyne's squad offensively through 15 matches this season with 141.0 points and 125 kills while sitting second on the team with 31.0 blocks on the defensive end, as well. Salas sits second on the team with 102.5 points and 91 kills with another seven service aces for the 'Phins. Gerken has added a team-high 279 assists while registering eight kills, 10 service aces, 88 digs, and 7.0 blocks. 

On defense, sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) leads the Dolphins with 130 digs and has recorded a .911 reception percentage through 12 matches. Freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) leads the Dolphins with 36.0 blocks while senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey/Ugur Okullari) is just behind Lupton with 28.0 blocks for Le Moyne. 

A Look at the Cougars:
Chicago State will travel to Syracuse having played to a 0-14 overall record with a 0-4 record in conference play to begin the season. 2025 marks the first season for Head Coach Kamille Jones at the helm of the Cougars' program.  

Chicago State opened the season with 10 non-conference losses through four invitationals from Aug. 30-Sept. 20 including matches against Michigan State (0-3), Wisconsin (0-3), DePaul (0-3), and #22 Missouri (0-3). 

Since then, the Cougars have fallen in their first four NEC matchups of the season including 0-3 and 1-3 losses to LIU on the road from Sept. 26-27 and, most recently, at the hands of Central Connecticut State (1-3, 2-3) at home this past weekend, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 3-4. 

On offense, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Nayella George leads all players with 120.5 points, 96 kills and 16 service aces while graduate outside hitter/opposite Jocelyn Carter sits behind with 113.0 points and 92 kills through all 14 team matches. Senior opposite hitter Leah Linares Castro sits atop the roster with 156 assists to aid the offense. 

Defensively, freshman libero/DS Alyssa Ferreira has recorded a team-high 126 digs while George has tallied another 120 for the Cougars. Senior middle blocker/opposite hitter Graci Littlejohn has recorded a team-leading 46.0 blocks through just 12 matches this season. 

What's Next:
The Dolphins will travel to North Easton, Mass. for two NEC matches against Stonehill next weekend, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 17-18.