IRVINE, Calif. - Backed by a talented trio of upperclassmen on the court, the Concordia University Irvine women's volleyball team is poised for success in the upcoming 2026 season.

Coaches across the PacWest Conference voted CUI to be a Top 5 squad this season in the Preseason Poll and a threat to make the first PacWest Volleyball Conference Tournament.

Point Loma was projected as the preseason favorite with seven first-place votes, while Chaminade and Hawaii Hilo each earned at least one first-place tally. Biola and CUI round out the Top 5. 

The top four squads out of the 10 competing schools will qualify for the PacWest Conference Tournament hosted by Vanguard in November.

The Golden Eagles are one of only two PacWest programs that return three All-Conference players.  Outside hitters Kayden Croy and Emma Wegleitner along with junior middle blocker Delaney Gregg were all Second Team All-PacWest selections.

Croy averaged 2.39 kills/set, 1.10 digs/set and 0.50 blocks/set as a junior for the Golden Eagles. She also hit .232 with a team-high 225 kills and had 21 kills in one of the best games of her career which came against Menlo.

Wegleitner was the only CUI player last season to rack up over 200 kills and 200 digs. The Boerne, Texas native and former GCU commit averaged 2.49 kills/set on a high volume of attempts (team-high 667 swings) while also sporting a 2.55 digs/set average.

Gregg hit .355 as a sophomore (which was best among CUI hitters & middles) with 179 kills and had a strong presence at the net with a team-high 75 total blocks. She also tied the school record for most blocks in a 3-set match with a career-high nine total rejections in a home sweep of Westmont.

Sofia Ajmal came on strong as a true freshman down the stretch last fall and Grace Carollo stepped into a larger role after an injury to Nevada Knowles in the middle of last season. All of those Golden Eagles return with more experience now under their belt.

The versatile Halen Kiefer is known to provide a boost from the serving line at key moments, senior Dominique VadeBoncoeur can add additional swings to the mix and other returners that will provide help on the back line include Celia Dowell, Kendyll Winn and Avery Banaag.

Meanwhile, Gabby Johnson, Bella Loftin and Clara John have an opportunity to earn more playing time after redshirting as freshmen.

CUI head coach Eryn Leja-Martin and her staff also brought in another strong crop of first-year players to join the mix. Keely Harrington and Avery Marshall are both out-of-state setters from Texas and Utah, respectively.  Leah Hernandez comes to CUI from Faith Lutheran High School in the Las Vegas area. Concordia also added more height with Livia Eyre, a 6'0 outside hitter from Provo, Utah, and two-sport athlete Sarah Guglielmana, a 6'1 addition from Madera, Calif. who also plans to contribute to the CUI track and field team in the spring.

Here is the full tally of votes from the PacWest Coaches:

PacWest Preseason Poll
1. Point Loma 95 (7)
2. Chaminade 89 (2)
3. Hawaii Hilo 77 (1)
4. Biola 70
5. Concordia 59
6. Vanguard 50
7. Westmont 42
8. Hawaii Pacific 30
9. Jessup 21
10. Dominican 17

CLICK HERE for the full CUI women's volleyball schedule