GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Grove City College women's volleyball team returns four All-Presidents' Athletic Conference honorees and several other seasoned veterans for the 2026 season.
 
Five seniors will help lead Grove City in its quest to repeat as Presidents' Athletic Conference champion in 2026. Seniors Sarah Hart (Marriottsville, Md./Liberty) and Kendra Klusch (Alliance, Ohio/Homeschooled) both return after earning First Team All-PAC last year while senior Alayna Dorst (Middletown, Del./Middletown) and senior Lily Lagaras (Crofton, Md./Crofton) are back after meriting Second Team All-Conference in 2025.
 
Hart averaged a team-leading 3.56 kills per set last year, her first season at the College. She also posted a .292 hitting percentage, the top mark among conference outside hitters.
 
Hart will again be counted on as a key contributor in Grove City's offense.
 
Klusch returns for her third year as a starter in the middle. She racked up a team-leading 113 blocks while also recording a team-best .335 hitting percentage in 2025.
 
She is a two-time First Team All-PAC selection at middle blocker.
 
Dorst also returns for her third season as a starter at outside hitter. She ranked second on the team in both kills and digs as a junior and will again be counted on up front and in the back row in 2026.
 
Lagaras also enters her third full season at right side hitter after playing in 27 matches last year. She recorded 70 total blocks as a junior while also contributing 1.34 kills per set in 2025.
 
Senior setter Sarah Harris (Lebanon, Ohio/Mars Hill) played in a career-high 28 matches last year and will help direct the Wolverine offense again this fall. She led the Wolverines in assist average (4.55) while also ranking fourth on the team with 22 aces.
 
Harris has played in 51 matches over the last two seasons.
 
Grove City also returns three juniors in its rotation: middle blocker Lilly Pool (Huntington, Ind./Ashland, Ohio), setter Brooke Manfull (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and libero Lilly Wojtala (Copley, Ohio/Revere).
 
Pool will again team with Klusch to give Grove City one of the region's most experienced middle tandems. Pool recorded 108 blocks while starting all 29 matches last year.
 
Manfull and Wojtala are both in their second respective season at Grove City. Manfull served 25 aces in 2025 while also averaging 3.98 assists per set as a first-year sophomore.  She and Harris are expected to split setting chores again in 2026.
 
Wojtala took over as Grove City's starting libero last fall and has the inside track to hold down that spot in 2026. She led the Wolverines by averaging 3.92 digs last year. Wojtala also served a team-best 33 aces as a sophomore.
 
Six sophomores are also competing to break into the lineup this year after seeing action as rookies. Setter Eliana Porta (Hartland, Mich./Hartland) made 11 appearances as a freshman and will push Harris and Manfull again this year.
 
Sophomores Annie Atwood (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong) and Taylor Ripple (New Bethlehem, Pa./Redbank Valley) are battling for time at outside hitter while classmates Ella D'Ippolito (Mars, Pa./Eden Christian) and Cassidy Johncour (Sewickley, Pa./Avonworth) are contenders at middle blocker.
 
Sophomore Caitlyn Garrett (Sewickley, Pa./Eden Christian) will challenge for a spot in the rotation at right side.
 
Head coach Leo Sayles also expects the team's newcomers to enter the mix for playing time in 2026.
 
Grove City opens its season Tuesday, September 1 by hosting La Roche in non-conference action. The single round-robin conference schedule starts September 30 against visiting Geneva.