Virginia Tech Women's Volleyball Seeks Continued Growth in 2026

The Virginia Tech women’s volleyball program has not won more than 5 games in ACC conference play since the program finished .500 in the ACC and had a 19-13 record overall in 2015. Virginia Tech actually was largely a .500 ACC team with a winning overall record over the first ten or so years of ACC membership. It made the NCAA tournament in 2010. However, the last ten years have been full of futility.

Even with the hiring of Coach Marci Byers in 2020, the program has struggled to reach .500, culminating in a low water mark of only 1 ACC and 7 overall wins in 2024.

What has ailed the program? First, the ACC is an elite conference with top programs like Pitt and Louisville, The addition of powerhouse Stanford has deepened the quality of the conference. Virginia Tech has found it difficult to recruit and compete at levels necessary to even be average. 

The Hokies have lacked the depth to sustain rallies. In addition, they have tended to suffer from defensive breakdowns or lapses caused by setter-to-hitter connections or small mistakes like contacting the antenna on attempted kills.

Fortunately, the Hokies showed signs of turning their fortunes around in 2025, with an overall record of 12-19 and 4-16 in the ACC, three more wins than the previous year. With a wave of new players entering the program, the Hokies are looking to continue that upward trend.

ROSTER:

The volleyball program lost nine players from the 2025 roster. Erica Fava, Ainsley Ranstead, Sierra Cates, Sara Malinowski, and Jordan Hallman exhausted their eligibility. Four other players transferred from Virginia Tech. Brianna Holiday, a freshman from Leesburg, VA who played in 30 matches and led the Hokies in blocks 12 matches, transferred to Florida.  Erica Dellesky, a sophomore from Texas, transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington. Sophomore Aisha Keric, who saw time in 43 matches for Virginia over her first two years, transferred to High Post. Lastly, junior outside hitter Elizabeth Aylward transferred to East Tennessee.

Those departures left only eight returning players and an opportunity to improve the roster.  Coach  Byers brought in four transfers and seven incoming freshmen who have the potential to elevate the program.

Setters (3)

Camilla Brandalise, a 5’11 senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, is in her second year at Virginia Tech after transferring from Florida Southwestern in 2025.  Prior to becoming a Hokie, Brandalise won two JUCO national championships at Florida Southwestern and accumulated 847 career assists her first two years in college.

In her first season at Virginia Tech, Brandalise started all 31 matches and led the Hokies with 609 assists, for a 5.49 assist to set ratio. She also led the team with 38 service aces and was among the top five in digs. With championship experience at the college level. Brandalise will be counted on to bring a winning mentality while anchoring the Hokie defense and orchestrating the offense.

Courtney Burgess, a 6’ 0 left-handed freshman from Columbia, South Carolina, starts her career at Virginia Tech as a four-time All-Region and three-time All-State setter at the 4A level. Burgess, a three year varsity player for her high school, also earned the Region Player of the Year as a junior.

An all-around athlete who played soccer and basketball growing up, Burgess did not start playing basketball until 8th grade. In fact, she did not fully focus on volleyball until her junior year.  Burgess recorded over 1,000 career assists, highlighted by her 2024-25 season when she dished out 304 assists for a 6.0 assist/set ratio and only 5 Ball-Handling Errors (BHE) while  earning a 91.2 serving percentage.  Her highlights show the ability to distribute the ball consistently to all three hitting positions.

Camdynn Gonzalez, a 5 '7 freshman from Mars, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) ,who, like Burgess, began as a soccer player but switched full-time to volleyball in the 9th grade. She earned two-time WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) runner up and was North Catholic High School’s team captain in 2025. She also gained First Team All-Section, First Team All-WPIA, and All State recognition. To learn more about the high energy Gonzalez, watch her highlights on her profile website.

Libero / Defensive Specialists (3)

Ivy Cooper, a 5 '4 sophomore from Port Saint Lucia, Florida, who took over the starting role in 2025 as a freshman. She started 8 of 31 matches and was second on the team with 201 digs, with a 2.07 digs per set average. Cooper was also third on the team with 23 aces. As a high schooler, Cooper earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American Honorable Mention and AVCA All-Region. She was also the 2024 Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) Class 7A Player of the Year.

Ece Yildiz, a 5’4 junior from Istanbul, Turkey, has seen playing time over her first two years at Virginia Tech. As a freshman, she played in 21 matches, with five starts, notching 81 digs and 18 assists. As a sophomore, Yilidz had 14 digs in 9 matches. She also had the remarkable achievement of having zero Ball-Handling Errors.

Avery Webb, a 5 '3 freshman from Saint Johns, Florida, was a four year varsity starter for her high school. She is second in her high school program’s history with more than 1,000 career digs. Webb is also a 2022 national champion and five time USA Volleyball (USAV) National Qualifier for the U.S. Junior Nationals.

Her mentality of “no ball drops” shows when you watch Webb’s highlights. She has very good  instincts as to where the ball is going, which allows her to move in position for athletic digs and saves. When she goes to the ground, Webb gets back to her feet quickly to remain involved in the action. Her bumps are typically well playable by her teams’ setters.

Outside Hitters (8)

Destiny Walker, a 5’11 junior pin hitter from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, transferred this off-season to Virginia Tech from Eastern Illinois. Walker brings experience to the Hokies as she led the Panthers to a 24-8 overall record and a 1503 Ohio Valley Conference record in 2025. Eastern Illinois won the Ohio Valley post-season tournament and reached the NCAA tournament where it lost to #3 Wisconsin in the first round. A candidate to start, Walker led the Panthers with 499 kills and 3.98 kills per set, a mark that was also second in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Reese Hazelton, a 6 '2 junior from Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, is a returning starter who transferred to Virginia Tech for the 2025 season after spending her freshman year at Indiana. As a high school recruit, she led the state of Pennsylvania in kills in 2022 and was second in kills in 2022. Overall, she finished her high school career with 2483 kills and 165 blocks. She brought those skills to Virginia Tech where she made 23 starts in 2025 while playing in 31 matches. Hazelton was second on the team with 196 kills and third with 183 digs. She also added 45 blocks. Hazelton showed she could make a huge impact with an expanded role after transferring; the experience she gained last year should help her develop even more for the upcoming season.

Sara Gasparini, a 5 '11 redshirt junior from Brescia, Italy, who transferred to Virginia Tech this season after winning two national championships with Florida Southwestern University. She was a mainstay in the lineup for the Bucs her freshman year, playing in 26 matches and averaging 1.93 kills and 2.25 digs per set. She started in every post-season match, including the national championship. Unfortunately, she suffered an injury ten matches into her sophomore year, which triggered a medical redshirt.

Adeline Hundl, a 5’11 returning sophomore from El Campo, Texas, played in 13 matches for the Hokies in 2025. She also earned three starts. Her freshman year stats included 32 kills, 7 digs, and 11 total blocks. While there are a number of junior outside hitters in front of her, the experience she gained in 2025 will help carve out a role for the Hokies.

Paloma Zabiri, a 6’2 sophomore from Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina, returns for her second year with the Hokies. She did not see court time her freshman year but has an opportunity to make an impact in 2026.

Avery Feltes, a 6 '0 freshman from Normal, Illinois, is a former two-time Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association (IVCA) All-State selection in 2023 and 2024. Feltes’ high school senior year was cut short due to injury that required surgery. To her credit, she overcame mental struggles that come with such injuries and remained present for her team. According to an article by Ayushi Patel in the Pawprint, the injury allowed her to study the game. She said, “I became more of a vocal leader rather than a physical leader. My contributions to the team were pointing out areas to put the ball or blocking lineups.

Sativa Martcheva, a 6 '1 freshman right side outside hitter from Virginia Beach, Virginia, comes to Virginia Tech as a two-time First Team All-State and 5A VHSL State Player of the Year.  She is a highly touted recruit who may see limited action this year due to the players in front of her but has the potential to be a mainstay at Virginia Tech in the future. Click to see highlights from her high school matches.

Isabel Lopez, a 6’0 freshman from Jacksonville, Florida, was a four-year varsity starter for her high school. With over 1,200 career kills in her high school career. Lopez was named a nominee for the 2025 Best Player in Jacksonville, Florida. See the link here for some of her club highlights.

Right-Side Hitter (1)

Frances Torres-Esperanza, a 6’0 senior from Clarksburg, Maryland, transferred to Virginia Tech after a three year career at Colgate. She typically played as an outside hitter on the right side for the Raiders. Torres-Esperanza played in 76 matches at Colgate with 486 career kills for a 1.76 kill per set rate. Her 72 blocks in her junior season was good for fourth best on her team.

She helped lead Colgate to two straight Patriot League championships and NCAA tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024 earning Patriot League All-Tournament team status in 2024. Colgate finished in second place in 2025 with a 13-3 conference record before losing in the semi-finals of the conference’s post-season tournament.  Torres-Esperanza brings senior leadership and championship experience to a Virginia Tech program looking to improve its outlook in the ACC.

Middle Blocker (3)

Izzy Mishler, a 6 '3 junior from Schaumburg, Illinois, appeared in only one match as a freshman, but according to Coach Byers, the team’s improvement in 2026 is a direct reflection of Mishler’s off-season work between her freshman and sophomore seasons. Per the Hokiesports pre-season article, Byer said, “Izzy is the player who I'm the most excited to see. She only played one match in her freshman year, and seeing the work she put in the spring to get where she was in the fall, that was a story for the ages. Looking back, I'm not sure if anybody knew she was going to make that big of a leap, but we’re happy she made that leap,” Byers added, referring to Mishler’s improvement from her freshman to her sophomore season. 

Mishler started 28 of 29 matches in 2025. Her 25 aces were second on the team. She had a .346 hitting percentage and 169 kills, which was third on the team. Defensively, Mishler had 33 digs and led the team with 116 total blocks. Given Mishler’s work ethic, there is a good chance both she and the Hokies will take another positive step.

Georgia Trexler, a 6’2 sophomore from Denver, North Carolina, returns after seeing limited action as a freshman in 2025. She played in three matches and five total sets.  Her season stats included four kills, two digs, and three total blocks. The four-year high school varsity player was a AVCA All-American and won both 3A All-Conference and 3A MVP honors twice. Hopefully, Trexler continues to develop and contributes even more for the Hokies this season.

Layla Moore, a 6’3 sophomore from Long Beach, California, transferred to Virginia Tech this year after a single season at California State University at Northridge.  She played in nine matches her freshman year, which included eighteen sets. She recorded two kills and four digs in her limited action. 

Cece Saylers is a 6’4 freshman from Brandon, Florida. As with many talented freshmen, her recruiting highlights show her height being a major advantage against opposing club teams.  It will be interesting to see how Saylers develops at Virginia Tech when she faces college-level opponents on a regular basis.

Potential Starters

Here is a speculative guess at potential starters:

• Camilla Brandalise - Setter - Returning player
• Ivy Cooper - Libero - Returning player
• Ivy Mishler - Middle Blocker - Returning player
• Torres-Esperanza - Right Side Hitter - Transfer
• Destiny Walker - Outside Hitter - Transfer
• Reese Hazelton - Outside Hitter - Returning player
• Sara Gasparini - Outside Hitter - Transfer

With only eight returning players and so many new faces, Virginia Tech’s volleyball team essentially got a facelift. Even more importantly, Coach Byers brought on players with experience playing for winning teams, championship teams, including players who have played in the NCAA tournament. 

SCHEDULE:

Virginia Tech kicks off its 2026 season this Friday, August 28 by hosting the Hokie Invitational on which Kent State, William & Mary, and Coppin State will come to Blacksburg. Coppin State will be a tough matchup as it went 23-12 overall and 13-1 in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference (MEAC).

The Hokies then travel to South Carolina to play in the Winthrop Invitational where they will face Old Dominion and the host Winthrop, who went 18-7 overall and 12-2 in the Big South Conference.

Virginia Tech will face Northwestern, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Long Island University in the Northwestern Invitation. The LIU Sharks played in the NCAA tournament last year and won its first two matches before losing to Nebraska. Virginia Tech will close out its non-conference schedule with a match against South Carolina in Columbia, SC.

In the ACC, the Hokies will play a touch schedule. Three ACC programs are pre-season ranked in the top 10 in the country: Pitt at #4, Stanford at #5, and Louisville at #7. Two other teams - SMU at #11 and North Carolina at #19 -  are in the top 25. 

Virginia Tech only won three regular season ACC series in 2025. Unfortunately, it lost too many matches by 0-3 or 1-3 scores.  The new look Hokies, with so many new, experienced players, are looking to shift the narrative. To do so, Virginia Tech has to start by taking more series from teams in the middle of the ACC pack.

To wrap up this introduction, the Hokies kickoff their season this Friday with two games. They start in the morning in Blacksburg with a 10:30 AM match against Kent State and then return to the court later in the evening with a 6:30 PM matchup against William & Mary. Both games Friday will be streamed on the ACCNx network.  Fans should come out to support the their Hokies 

YOUTUBE FULL MATCH - 2025 CLEMSON

While waiting for August 28 to get here, get your volleyball fix by watching Virginia Tech take down Clemson in 2025.