GREENVILLE, Pa. (Aug. 26) -- The Thiel College Women's Volleyball team enters the 2025 season fresh off a 17-win season that culminated in a berth in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament. Thiel's 17 wins were a 14-win improvement from 2023 that was the second-best year-to-year improvement among all 419 NCAA Division III women's volleyball programs last fall.

Under the leadership of first-year head coach Eric Visgitis, the Tomcats look to build upon last seasons success and push further into the conference tournament with a senior-heavy roster loaded with experience and talent.

Thiel opens the season in the Margie Knight Classic hosted by Salisbury University Friday against American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason No. 6 UW-Oshkosh at 5:30 p.m. The Blue and Gold will take on the host SeaGulls Saturday at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament later in the day against Penn State Altoona at 2.

Below is a transcript of our interview with Visgitis as we went six rotations to preview the 2025 campaign.

Dante Parente
We're here with women's volleyball head coach Eric Visgitis doing the 2025 women's volleyball season preview. We're going six rotations today. Eric, you ready to go?

Visgitis
All right, this ought to be fun.

Parente
All right, coach. So, coming into this season, just kind of what are the general goals and expectations for your team with a PAC Championship Tournament appearance last year? Just kind of what's the goals for this 2025 campaign?

Visgitis
Yeah, I mean, of course, we want to build off from that. We had a great year last year and now we want to be even better. We have a good mix of talent from freshman all the way seniors. We do have about eight seniors, so expectations are very high. We have multiple players on the players to watch list. So, of course, we want to perform well when we're practicing like it as well. The girls are bringing intensity. They're kicking butt in the weight room. So, I would definitely say pressure is high, but that's that's what we want. That's what Thiel volleyball thrives on.

Parente
Coach, you mentioned those players to watch coming in the 2025 season. What can you kind of say about some of your key returners for this team and the kind of the role that those types of players are going to play on this team for you guys to be successful?

Visgitis
Yeah, I mean they're they're all going to be leaders. Of course, with every team you have your set team captains, but that doesn't mean none of them can't step up and say something. They have great knowledge of volleyball. They're also looking after our younger players from freshman to sophomores. So, it's kind of great. It helps coach Luke and I with our job. They're making it so much easier. Um, and of course it comes with a lot of expectations, but they're they're very excited for that. Especially Daisy Jenness (Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton), who is looking to be another star type of player. She had a wonderful year last year and now as a senior, we're expecting a lot more and she's welcomed that pressure.

Parente
So, coming into this year, like we mentioned before, made the conference tournament last year. Obviously, making the conference tournament and going far in the conference tournament, two different things. What's kind of going to be the main way that you guys will be able to go far in the conference tournament this season and be able to make a dent, basically?

Visgitis
Yeah. Uh definitely with our scrappiness. We may not be the biggest team in conference, but we're definitely the scrappiest. So we take pride in our defense. I mean, we have liberos and d-specs, even our outsides in six, we just play phenomenal defense. It's a blessing and a curse because it's like 'who are we going to put out there?' I think that's what's really going to separate us is just taking control on our side of the net. If we do that then everything else should follow.

Parente
You mentioned before Daisy Jenness (Pendleton, Ore./Pendleton) on the outside. So, what can you say about the job that your outsides are going to have to do for you guys to be successful this season? Not just, you know, offensively, but also service receive and on defense?

Visgitis
I mean, with our outsides, they're extremely aggressive when they go for an attack. When the ball's there, they want to swing at it, but we what we've been working a lot in practice is going for the shots, going for the rolls, looking to where the defense isn't. So I think if our outsides could add that to their arsenals, we're going to be in good shape. Also, just reading the game in six, you know, when you're in six, reading the game is so much harder because there's so much more space to cover, but with with the ladies and how they've been working, I'm pretty confident that they're going to be able to get a lot of things back.

Parente
Now, coach, we're in the back row now. We're in position five. What can you say about the defensive players on your teams, the littles, if you will, or the bros, whatever you want to call them? What can you say about that position on your team and the role that they'll have in 2025?

Visgitis
I mean, definitely speed. They are phenomenal at reading the game. Our tip defense is very strong. I'm expecting a lot of digs. I mean, last year we were very tops in the conference when it came to digs and now we added in really good freshmen. Our freshman now and the sophomores they've improved even more. And like I said on the bench, we could go from our first player down to our last and they're going to make an impact back here. I think we're expecting a lot out of the libero position because especially in women's volleyball, it's very important.

Parente
Last one for you here. We talked about a little bit of every facet of the game except for serving. So, let's talk about serving. Obviously, in volleyball, probably one of the more important things in the game. Can't serve tough, you can't serve in, you're not going to win. How do you kind of find that balance between serving tough, but also making sure you're not missing a ton of serves?

Visgitis
Absolutely. We have a lot of aggressive servers on this team, and sometimes coach and I have to come back and kind of be like, 'hey, 70%.' You don't have to go 100% every time to get them out of their offensive sets. So, I think with that, we really work into it, we start to bother them a little bit and then once we get a nice lead, we go 100% because we have some real aggressive servers from the starters down to the bench. We got people who serve and we're going to be able to go to the bench a lot to pick out people that we want if we want to go short, if we want to go long. So yeah, I mean, serving is going to be real important for us. It was important last year and it's going to be even more important this year.

Parente
Awesome. Coach, we just did the 2025 women's volleyball season preview. That's Eric Visgitis. The Tomcats open the year this Friday at the Salisbury Tournament against the number-six team in the nation, Wisconsin Oshkosh, Friday evening. Go Tomcats.