NEW HAVEN, Conn. (August 20, 2025) - It was a magical 2024 season for Georgian Court Volleyball as the Lions cruised through the regular season and captured the CACC Tournament Championship on their way to a trip to the NCAA Regional Tournament where GCU won an NCAA Tournament game for just the second time in program history. But that was 2024, and 2025 is right around the corner as the Lions look to encore their championship performance. The road to a repeat of last season started this week with the beginning of preseason and continues as the CACC released their 2025 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Lions, who play in the CACC South Division, were picked to second as voted on by the league's coaches.
The Lions picked up two first-place votes and finished with 44 points in the poll. They trail only Jefferson who garnered six first-place votes and 51 total points. Goldey-Beacom secured two first-place votes and Holy Family one and check in at third and fourth in the South.
In the North, Bridgeport sits atop the poll with 46 points and six first-place votes while Dominican is second with four first-place votes and 40 points. Post, who the Lions defeated in the CACC Tournament Championship game, is third and took the final first-place vote.
Last year, Georgian Court finished 22-10 overall with a blistering 14-2 mark in the CACC. Their .875 conference winning percentage was their best since 2009 as they returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 and won an NCAA game for the first time since 2008.
Georgian Court had three make the All-CACC team following the season with
Nylene Mateo on the First Team,
Chelsea Ross on the Second Team and
Giorgia Cappelletti on the Third Team. All three have graduated though as part of a large 2024 senior class.
Returning for her third season at the helm is CACC Coach of the Year
Shana Rayside. She won her first coaching award in 2024 after the team saw an improvement of six CACC wins from her debut 2023 season.
The season starts Sept. 5-6 at the West Chester Tournament with three games in two days. Their home opener comes the next week against Queens Tuesday, Sept. 9. With the loss of Bloomfield, that drops the CACC down to 11 teams. The Lions will play a home-and-home with the other members of the CACC South while taking on conference foes from the CACC North just one time.
For the first time in two years, the CACC Tournament will not be held at Georgian Court. This year the semifinals and finals will be held in Wilmington, Del. and hosted by Goldey-Beacom. The Tournament will start with the quarterfinals on campus sites Tuesday, Nov. 18 before moving to Goldey-Beacom for the semifinals Friday, Nov. 22 and the finals Saturday, Nov. 23.
CACC Volleyball Preseason Poll
North Division
| 1. |
Bridgeport (6) |
46 pts |
| 2. |
Dominican (4) |
40 |
| 3. |
Post (1) |
34 |
| 4. |
Felician |
25 |
| 5. |
Caldwell |
15 |
South Division
| 1. |
Jefferson (6) |
51 pts |
| 2. |
Georgian Court (2) |
44 |
| 3. |
Goldey-Beacom (2) |
39 |
| 4. |
Holy Family (1) |
33 |
| 5. |
Chestnut Hill |
31 |
| 6. |
Wilmington |
27 |
