Games #4-6 vs. Hampton University (CAA), Virginia Tech (ACC), University of Delaware (CUSA)
Info: Saturday & Sunday, September 6-7
Newark, Del. | Bob Carpenter Center

Watch: 
ESPN+ (Note: Only Le Moyne's matchup versus Delaware will be broadcast)

Live Stats: 
Match vs. Hampton 
Match vs. Virginia Tech
Match vs. Delaware

Newark, Del. – The Le Moyne College women's volleyball team will travel to Delaware to take part in the Blue Hen Invitational hosted by the University of Delaware this coming weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Sep. 6-7. They'll kick off their three-match set at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday against Hampton University before wrapping up the day against Virginia Tech as 1:00 p.m.. They'll then close out the invite against the host Blue Hens at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Matchup Histories:
The Dolphins will meet all three of their opponents for the first time in program history at this year's Blue Hen Invitational. 

'Phins Season:
Le Moyne will enter the weekend with a 1-2 record to start the 2025 season, with their win coming against Niagara University on Saturday, Aug. 30 and losses at the hands of Rider and Syracuse.

The team's win against Niagara marked Head Coach Fiona Cunningham's first at the helm of the Dolphins' volleyball program, their first home victory against a non-NEC opponent since moving to Division I in 2023, and (as the second game of the year) their earliest victory in any season since 2022. 

Their hard-nosed victory of the Purple Eagles came in five sets with Le Moyne overcoming a 2-0 deficit after two sets. After falling 25-21 and 26-24 in the first pair of sets, the Dolphins held the lead for the entirety of the third and fourth sets, eventually winning 25-17 and 25-19 while forcing a decisive fifth set. After allowing Niagara to tie it up 5-5 through 10 points, the Dolphins went on a 5-0 run which they held on to and came away with a 15-11 set win to claim the victory in the match.

Through three games, sophomore outside hitters Denali Louden (Murrieta, C.A. / Murrieta Mesa) and Jordyn Hamlin (Manahawkin, N.J. / Southern Regional) lead the team with 45.0 and 36.5 points along with 42 and 34 kills apiece, respectively. Junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School) sits just behind with 31.0 points and 27 kills while registering a .233 hitting percentage while playing in all 12 sets of the season.

Senior setter Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) has tallied a team-best 66 assists with sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville-Chili) adding another 40 assists so far this year.

Sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) leads Le Moyne with 37 digs and six service aces, with Louden and Gerken each adding 27 more digs to the statsheet.

Lupton has also recorded a team-leading 8.0 blocks on the year with senior middle hitter Nil Ezgi Tasdelen (Izmir, Turkey/Ugur Okullari) registering 5.0 blocks and freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J./Ramsey) earning 4.0, as well.

A Look at the Competition:
Hampton University is coming off a 0-30 season in 2024, including going 0-18 in conference play (CAA) in Head Coach Ronaldo Pacheco's first season at the helm. The Pirates will enter the Blue Hen Invitational with an 0-3 record to start this season, having dropped each of their opening weekend matches in the Hampton Tournament.

The Pirates fell 3-0 on Friday, Aug. 29 against Florida A&M before being taken down by East Carolina, 3-0, and Maryland East Shore, 3-1, the following day. Their lone set victory came in the second set of their final matchup when they stormed back from down 8-3 to tie the set 24-24 and take the following two points. 

Through three matches, freshman outside hitter Jaya Rimm leads the Pirates with 27.5 points and 25 kills with a pair of service aces, 15 digs, and 1.0 block. Sophomore setter Morgan Warren leads Hampton with 57 assists and 19 digs while freshman middle blocker Kylah McNeal has tallied a team-best 9.0 blocks for the Pirates.

The Virginia Tech Hokies finished 2024 with a 7-23 overall record while going 1-19 in ACC matchups during Head Coach Marci Byers's fourth season. After opening weekend in 2025, the Hokies are 2-1 after taking down North Carolina Central, 3-0, and UNC Wilmington, 3-0, on Friday, Aug. 29 before dropping their final matchup of the UNCW Tournament to Lindenwood, 3-2, on Saturday, Aug. 30. 

Freshman middle blocker/right side hitter Brianna Holladay leads Virginia Tech with 38.5 points on the year while junior outside hitter Payton Woods has added a team-high 28 kills through 10 sets played. Junior setter Camilla Brandalise (47) and sophomore setter Erica Dellesky (46) are neck and neck at the top of the stat sheet in assists. Graduate libero/DS Erica Fava has put up a team-leading 28 digs this season, while Holladay also leads with 12.0 blocks for the Hokies. 

Last season, Delaware went 20-7 overall with a 15-3 conference record in their final season in the CAA, en route to an appearance in the 2024 CAA Tournament. The Blue Hens entered the tournament as the #2 seed and took down #3 Towson, 3-1, in the semifinal round before falling to #1 Charleston, 3-2, in the conference championship game.

So far in 2025 (Head Coach Kimberly Lambert's fourth in the position), Delaware is 0-2 after playing in the K-State Invitational and falling to both UMBC (3-1) and host Kansas State (3-0) this past weekend.

Through seven sets in their two matches last weekend, senior opposite hitter Dylan Norris has led the Blue Hens' offense with 25.5 points and 22 kills. Junior setter Kennedi Inman has added a team-high 65 assists thus far with sophomore outside hitter Jayda Reed leading in digs with 19.Senior outside hitter/middle blocker Asia Murray sits as the only player on Delaware's roster with double-digit blocks with 10.0. 

What's Next:
Le Moyne will head to Annapolis, Md. to take part in a pair of matches at the Navy Invitational against Gardner-Webb University and Navy on Friday and Saturday, Sep. 12-13.