PREVIEW: Volleyball Opens 2025 at Pace on Thursday Night
Purple Knights gear up for 26-match schedule that includes nine contests inside Hubbell Gym.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – With a busy preseason about to be in the books, the University of Bridgeport's volleyball team gears up for its 2025 season-opener on Thursday night at Pace University (7 p.m.). The Purple Knights will play a 26-match schedule this fall which includes nine contests at the newly updated Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium.
SCOUTING THE SETTERS
UB and Pace will be meeting for the third straight year, having split their last two matchups. Bridgeport earned a 3-1 road win over the Setters last September. Pace ended 2024 with an overall record of 11-11. The Setters' 2025 roster is composed of 14 freshmen and one senior.
UB'S NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Following Pace, and another nearby matchup at Molloy (Sept. 10), the Purple Knights are off to the Lone Star State for four matches at Texas A&M Kingsville. UB will play Southern Arkansas and Southeastern Oklahoma on Sept. 12 followed by St. Martin's and the host Javelinas on Sept. 13.
After the trip to Texas, Bridgeport's non-league contests include four foes from the NE10 and a pair of opponents from the ECC. Most notably, UB has two matches against the two-time defending regional champions, Bentley, along with contests against two more NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in AIC (Sept. 19) and Adelphi (Sept. 25).
UB'S 2025 CACC SLATE
The Purple Knights' conference opener, which is the first of 14 league matches, is slated for Sept. 17 at home against Felician. UB will also play at the Golden Falcons on Oct. 29.
Bridgeport is scheduled to play its CACC divisional foes (Felician, Post, Caldwell, Dominican) twice (home-and-home) while facing off against the South Division once. UB's matchup against the defending CACC champions, Georgian Court, will come on the road on Oct. 4.
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2024?
The Purple Knights finished 2024 with an overall record of 20-10, marking their second straight season with at least 20 wins. UB went 13-3 in CACC play to capture a share of the regular-season title, fueled by an eight-match winning streak to close out the regular season.
Bridgeport's success stemmed from a high-powered offense that led the conference in hitting percentage, kills per set, and assists per set. Despite the strong regular season, UB's year ended with a tough CACC quarterfinal loss to third-seeded Jefferson.
WHO'S BACK FROM 2024?
A pair of CACC All-Conference performers return for the Purple and White this fall. Lucia Tomiello (First Team) and Hailey Jessen (Third Team) will be key contributors after posting sensational seasons a year ago.
Tomiello, who was also named to the D2CCA's All-Region Team, ranked fourth in the CACC in hitting percentage (.350) while also leading the Purple Knights in both total blocks (48.5) and solo blocks (20). Jessen, meanwhile, ranked second on UB in total kills (191), kills per set (3.41) and hitting percentage (.222).
Ava Casales, Angelina Mermella, Kenyce Johnson, Analdys Abreu and Ella Bowman are also returning players for the Purple Knights in 2025.
WHO'S NEW IN 2025?
The Purple Knights will have a slightly different look this fall with more than half of their roster being new to the program in 2025. UB's eight new players, who are all from different states, include six freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.
Elaine DeLallo is a familiar face in UB's newcomers as she played the previous two years at fellow CACC school, Jefferson University.
UB'S RECENT SUCCESS
The Purple Knights have earned at least a share of the CACC's regular-season championship each of the last two seasons. In fact, Bridgeport owns a terrific 40-10 conference record since joining the league prior to the 2022 campaign.
Bridgeport's 2023 squad (26-8, 15-1 CACC) won both the CACC's regular-season and tournament titles en route to the program's first berth into the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
UB's head coach Gary Mullin has been at the forefront throughout all the recent successes. He enters the 2025 season with a superb record of 197-109 during his 11-year tenure at Bridgeport.
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? (QUOTES)
Gary Mullin – Head Coach, 12th Year
"I am excited to begin the new season with a big group of new faces. This will be a bit of a rebuilding year, but we have a great group of athletes and lots of reasons for optimism as we kick off the 2025 campaign."
Kelly Andrews – Assistant Coach, 5th Year
"While we had a decent year last year, I feel like we never really hit our potential. I'm super excited about our incoming class and what I think they will bring to the table. These athletes are fresh, competitive, and are hustlers…We need that. I think we have an opportunity to expound on last year's season with the talent and drive of these newcomers. I am feeling optimistic about this season and how competitive I think we will be."
Lucia Tomiello – Senior Captain
"I am thrilled about this season and this new team. We are focusing on building chemistry and working hard every day to reach our goals. As a team, we are all looking forward to competing, and we are ready to see how far we can go!"
FOLLOW ALONG
For all information regarding Bridgeport Athletics, visit www.UBKnights.com and follow UB Athletics on Facebook (UBPurpleKnights), X (@UBPurpleKnights) and Instagram (@UBPurpleKnights).