Women's Volleyball Ben Miles, Coordinator of Athletics Communication | HCAC

HCAC 2025 Volleyball Notebook, Week 5

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Volleyball teams competed in week five of the 2025 season.
 
Around the League:
HCAC Volleyball Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week:
Offensive Player of the Week:
Elliot Mays (Jeffersonville, Ind.) Hanover College | Opposite Hitter | Senior - Mays and the Panthers posted a 3-1 record, including a three game sweep at the Sommer Center Spiketacular. The senior recorded 63 kills for a .423 hitting percentage. She was named to the All-Tournament team.

Defensive Player of the Week:
Madison Bizjak (San Diego, Calif.) Earlham College | Libero | Junior - Madison Bizjak tallied her 1,000th career dig this week after leading the Quakers with 59 (8.43 digs/set). Bizjak collected 25 digs in a sweep of Capital on Wednesday, and matcher her career high with 34 digs on Saturday against Trine.

 
Notable Performances:
Offensive
  • Blythe Young (Avon, Ind.) Anderson University | Setter | Sophomore - Blythe Young dished out 10.58 assists per set and recorded 0.33 service aces per set as Anderson went 3-1 on the week.
  • Genesis Casillas (San Antonio, Texas) Berea College | Opposite Hitter | Junior - Genesis Casillas, a junior outside hitter from San Antonio, TX, was a key piece for the Mountaineers’ offense during their matchup against the Wilmington Quakers, where she recorded 10 kills for a .286 hitting percentage along with 3 digs and 1 ace.
  • Kasey Sager (Troy, Ohio) Bluffton University | Middle Hitter | Junior - Sager propelled the Beavers to a 3-2 mark for the week, including Bluffton's first win over Heidelberg since 2016. She was named to the Sommer Center Spiketacular All-Tournament Team after hitting at a blistering .316 clip with 58 kills and, 9 blocks and 8 digs. Sager had a career-best 19 kills while hitting .395 in the win over Heidelberg.
  • Gabby Gerardi (Sterling Heights, Mich.) Earlham College | Middle Blocker | Senior - Gabby Gerardi led the Quakers at the net this week with 11 total blocks. The senior matched her career high on Wednesday evening with seven blocks in a sweep of Capital. Gerardi also scored 11 kills this week, swinging at a .219 clip in the Quaker rotation.
  • Avery Ball (Decatur, Ind.) Manchester University | Opposite Hitter | Senior - Avery Ball's performance last week was vital for the Spartans. Ball tallied 46 kills and 8 service aces across four matches, posting 14 kills in two separate matches. Ball also surpassed 1,000 career kills with her 14 against the University of Puerto Rico.
  • Julia Irmen (Navarre, Fla.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Setter | Sophomore – Julia Irmen was a standout for the Fightin' Engineers as the team went 2-2 on the week with wins over Blackburn and Illinois College. Irmen was incredible, recording three consecutive double-doubles in assists and digs. She finished the week with 10.5 assists per set and 3.21 digs per set, recording over 40 assists in two matches. Irmen earned All-Tournament Team in the UW-Whitewater Invitational for her efforts.
  • Macy Lentz (Park Hills, Ky.) Transylvania University | Setter | Sophomore | In the 3-0 loss to Otterbein, Macy Lentz totaled 29 assists. Lentz also tallied a hitting percentage of .600. In the 3-1 win against Ohio Northern, Macy Lentz led the team with her career best in assists with 50. Lentz added 10 kills in the win.
Defensive
  • Jayda Lanham (Venice, Fla.) Anderson University | Opposite Hitter | Sophomore - Jayda Lanham posted weekly averages of 7.33 receptions, 4.00 digs and 0.42 blocks as Anderson went 3-1 on the week.
  • Amelie Cora (Rio Grande, P.R.) Berea College | Libero | Senior - Amelie Cora, a senior libero from Rio Grande, PR, led the Mountaineers’ defense in this week’s matchup against the Wilmington Quakers with 16 digs over 3 sets, averaging 5.33 per set.
  • Emma Organ (Lambertville, Mich.) Bluffton University | Libero | Senior - Organ played a huge role in Bluffton going 3-1 at the Sommer Center Spiketacular. She picked up 113 digs (5.95 DPS) over five matches while adding 6 service aces.
  • Abbey McCoy (Indianapolis, Ind.) Hanover College | Opposite Hitter | Junior - McCoy and Hanover posted a 3-1 record, including a sweep at Bluffton. She tallied 40 digs and an impressive 41 kills. The Panthers knocked off OAC foes Heidelberg and Baldwin-Wallace, as well as Adrian.
  • Tiffany Watterson (Elkhart, Ind.) Manchester University | Defensive Specialist | Junior - Tiffany Watterson was the backbone of the Manchester defense this past week. Watterson tallied 54 digs across four matches as the Spartans went 2-2 on the week. Watterson's 27 digs at Huntington were enough to rocket her past the 1,000 career digs threshold.
  • Lily Ebright (Wichita, Kan.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Defensive Specialist | Senior - Lily Ebright led the Rose-Hulman defense as the team went 2-2 over the week. Ebright totaled 84 digs, averaging 6.0 digs per set. Ebright currently leads the conference with 5.96 digs per set this season.
  • Cecelia Roberts (Louisville, Ky.) Transylvania University | Middle Hitter | Junior - In the 3-1 win against Ohio Northern, middle hitter Cecelia Roberts led the team at the net with 5 blocks.
Looking Forward:
HCAC Volleyball Standings