SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University volleyball team opens its 2026 season with three matches this weekend at the Storm Volleyball Classic in Painesville, Ohio.
 
STORM VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday: vs. Point Park (2 p.m.)
Friday: vs. Lake Erie (6 p.m.)
Saturday: vs. Seton Hill (6 p.m.)
 
LIVE COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by Lake Erie
• Live Streaming Video ($)  |  Provided by Lake Erie
• X (formerly Twitter)  |  In-game updates and highlights
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch this weekend's matches on the FloSports apps.
• Search for "FloSports" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku devices to download the app. You will have to login to your FloSports subscription to watch the game.
 
$$ FLOSPORTS PAY-PER-VIEW GAME $$
Fans must have a FloSports subscription to watch this weekend's matches and can only access the live video on the FloSports website linked above or the FloSports mobile or television apps. There are no single-game purchase options. Fans must subscribe for at least one month to be able to watch the game. Monthly subscriptions to FloSports are $24.99 per month or $119.88 per year. Discounts are available to subscribers with .edu email addresses. Signup information available HERE.
 
TICKETS
• Purchase Tickets Online Here
Tickets will be sold as day passes and include admission for all three games for the day at $11 per day. There will be no tournament passes.
 
MATCH 1 DETAILS
Opponent: Point Park University
Date: Friday – 2 p.m.
Location: Painesville, Ohio
Venue: Osborne Center
Watch: FloSports
Tickets: Link
Live Stats: Link
All-Time Series: SRU leads 4-3
Last Played: Sept. 27, 2022 (SRU won 3-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Slippery Rock owns a 4-3 all-time record against Point Park. The Rock and Pioneers last met during the 2022 season with SRU claiming a 25-18, 25-17, 27-25 road sweep behind 13 kills from Erica Selfridge and an 11-kill, 12-dig double-double by Abigail Koeller. There are no active athletes from either school that played in the 2022 match.
 
MATCH 2 DETAILS
Opponent: Lake Erie College
Date: Friday – 6 p.m.
Location: Painesville, Ohio
Venue: Osborne Center
Watch: FloSports
Tickets: Link
Live Stats: Link
All-Time Series: SRU leads 1-0
Last Played: Oct. 31, 2008 (SRU won 3-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Friday's match will serve as just the second all-time meeting between The Rock and Storm, the first being a 25-17, 25-13, 25-16 Rock sweep on Halloween in 2008. Slippery Rock Hall of Famer Anastasia Urbanik registered 15 kills for SRU in the win.
 
MATCH 3 DETAILS
Opponent: Seton Hill University
Date: Saturday – 1 p.m.
Location: Painesville, Ohio
Venue: Osborne Center
Watch: FloSports
Tickets: Link
Live Stats: Link
All-Time Series: SHU leads 18-12
Last Played: Nov. 1, 2025 (SHU won 3-0)
 
SERIES HISTORY
Two members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division, Slippery Rock and Seton Hill have split the season series in each of the last two years to move the Griffins' record in the all-time series 18-12.
 
Top Rock Performers vs. SHU
(Per match statistics)
Paityn Krause: 14.5 Assists, 6.5 Digs, 1.0 Aces (4 MP)
Kara Pasquale: 8.5 Digs (4 MP)
Emry Rumbaugh: 11.0 Kills, .281%, 3.0 Blocks (2 MP)
Kaitlyn Danszczak: 8 Kills, 3 Digs, 1 Block (1 MP)
Addison Jones: 1.5 Blocks (2 Matches)

SLIPPERY ROCK PRIMER
Roster: Link
2025 Final Stats: Link
2025 Record: 10-17
2025 Home Record: 2-6
2025 Away Record: 3-7
2025 Neutral Site Record: 5-4
PSAC West Preseason Poll: 8th
Head Coach: Dylan Lasher | 2nd season at SRU (10-17) | 6th overall (55-78)
 
TOP ROCK RETURNERS (2025 stats)
ATTACK: Emry Rumbaugh (177 kills / .172), Gwen McCarthy (109 kills / .142)
ASSISTS: Paityn Krause (551 / 5.20 per set)
ACES: Krause (25), Marley Annis (21)
DIGS: Kara Pasquale (492 / 4.87 per set)
BLOCKS: Rumbaugh (59), Victoria Nalbach (50)
 
SIGNIFICANT DEPARTURES
Key Losses (2025 stats)
Callie Chevalier: 314 Kills, 44 Blocks
Lauren VonderHaar: 204 Kills, 136 Blocks
Jaeden Yost: 413 Assists, 33 Aces
 
COMING OUT STRONG
Slippery Rock is 11-1 in its season-opening match dating back to the 2013 campaign. Over the last 12 completed seasons, SRU has exited its opening weekend with a winning record seven times, a .500 mark in three other years and a losing mark just twice.
 
A victory Friday over Point Park would give The Rock their fifth consecutive season-opening win.
 
SRU In Season-Openers (Since 2021)
2025: vs. Elizabeth City State (W, 3-0)
2024: vs. Virginia Union (W, 3-0)
2023: vs. Ursuline (W, 3-0)
2022: vs. Salem (W, 3-0)
2021:  vs. Notre Dame (Ohio) (L, 3-0)
 
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Slippery Rock has garnered 63 of its last 107 wins (58.9 percent) dating back to the 2015 season against non-conference foes. The Rock were a healthy 7-6 outside of the PSAC West in 2025. SRU has posted a winning record in non-conference matches in each of the last three seasons.
 
COMFORTABLE AWAY FROM HOME
Of The Rock's 26 matches in 2025, 15 will occur outside of Morrow Field House. Luckily for SRU, playing away from home has not been a problem of late. Over the last four years, 33 of Slippery Rock's 42 wins have come in road / neutral site matches. The Rock went 8-11 away from home in 2025.
 
AN EARLY LOOK AT THE GRIFFS
The 2026 schedule features somewhat of a rarity for Slippery Rock as SRU and Seton Hill will play a non-conference match at the Storm Volleyball Classic in addition to its traditional home-away PSAC West season series.
 
In the last 25 seasons, Slippery Rock has played three matches in the regular season against its PSAC West counterparts four times: vs. California (2000), vs. Clarion (2002), vs. IUP (2000) and most recently against Seton Hill in 2021 when The Rock and Griffins met at the Hall of Fame City Challenge in non-conference play in addition to its two PSAC West matches.
 
DON'T RELY TOO MUCH ON PRESEASON POLLS
While Slippery Rock was predicted to finish eighth in the PSAC West standings this season by the league's coaches in the preseason poll, the annual prognostication should be taken with little more than a grain of salt.
 
Since the PSAC went from quad divisions (2016-19) back to its current Western Division / Eastern Division format (2021-present), the preseason poll has predicted the PSAC West's conference tournament qualifiers with 100 percent accuracy just once. 
 
In what was largely a regurgitation of last season's final standings, reigning Atlantic Region champion Gannon was picked to win the Western Division for a sixth consecutive year with seven first-place votes followed by Indiana (Pa.), Pitt-Johnstown, Clarion, California (Pa.), Seton Hill, Edinboro and The Rock.
 
Preseason Polls at the Storm Classic
Lake Erie: 3rd (G-MAC East)
Point Park: 5th (MEC North)
Seton Hill: 6th (PSAC West)
Slippery Rock: 8th (PSAC West)
 
STRONG EARLY ON…
Slippery Rock took the first set in 16 of its 27 matches last year.
 
…BUT HAVE TO FINISH IN 2026
However, Slippery Rock was just 1-7 in its eight five-set matches a season ago.
 
FAMILIARITY FOR LASHER IN YEAR TWO
This time a year ago Slippery Rock head coach Dylan Lasher was yet to coach a match for The Rock heading into the season-opening weekend at the 2025 Fairmont State Classic. 2026 will see a reversal for The Rock's second-year coach at the Storm Volleyball Classic as Slippery Rock will be the only team in attendance this weekend with the same head coach as last year.
 
Point Park: Nicole Bajuszik was hired to guide the Pioneer program on Feb. 9, 2026 following 13 years as the head coach at La Roche College.
 
Lake Erie: Hannah Zuchowski became Lake Erie's head coach on March 9, 2026 after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant at Ashland University.
 
Seton Hill: A former two-time All-American at Clarion, Cassidy Snider replaces long-time Seton Hill head coach Rick Hall in 2026 after serving as an assistant coach at IUP in 2025.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The 2026 Slippery Rock volleyball team enters the season heavy on potential, but relatively light on in-match collegiate experience. Only five of The Rock's 23-athlete roster opens the year having played 40 or more matches at SRU – libero Kara Pasquale (50), setter Paityn Krause (47), outside hitter Kaitlyn Danszczak (45), middle blocker Victoria Nalbach (45) and defensive specialist Marley Annis (40) – while 14 have played no more than 20 matches with four others having played between 21-39 matches.
 
Charting The Rock Vets
Career Matches Played (Starts)
Kara Pasquale: 50 (0)
Paityn Krause: 47 (19)
Kaitlyn Danszczak: 45 (21)
Victoria Nalbach: 45 (19)
Marley Annis: 40 (15)
Gwen McCarthy: 36 (16)
Brooke Farrah : 27 (0)
Emry Rumbaugh: 26 (20)
Ava Haynes: 22 (4)
Addison Jones: 16 (10)
Hayden Deming: 13 (1)
Leah Schreckengost: 8 (0)
Abby Kolcum: 2 (0)
Alayna Esselink: 1 (0)
Sidney Stevenson: 0 (0)

TOP RETURNING UPPERCLASSMEN
• Krause has served as one of The Rock's primary setters in each of her first two years on campus. A season ago, Krause led SRU in assists (551) and assists per set (5.20) while ranking second in aces (25) and fourth in digs (215). Krause already sits 16th in program history for assists in a career, 37 behind Michelle Shatto (1994-97) for 15th place.
 
• Pasquale firmly established herself as one of the top liberos in the PSAC West a year ago. While playing in 26 matches, and 101 of a possible 106 sets, Pasquale recorded 492 digs and ranked 49th in the nation in digs per set (4.87) to go with 13 aces offensively. Pasquale, who registered 20 or more digs on 13 occasions a year ago, opens the year 503 digs away from passing Layna Heilman-Houser (2002-05) and moving into 20th on SRU's career digs ledger. 
 
• Nalbach enters 2026 following a breakout season in 2025 in which she set career-bests in blocks (50), blocks per set (0.66), kills (93), attack percentage (.257) and digs (23). She started 17 of her 24 matches played.
 
• After not appearing in a match during their first seasons in 2024, the duo of middle blocker Addison Jones and outside hitter Ava Haynes both made significant contributions last year with Jones racking up 42 blocks (1.00 b/s) in 16 matches and Haynes tallying 86 kills, 54 digs and 34 blocks across 22 matches. 
 
• Danszczak has appeared in 41 matches over the last two seasons primarily as a reserve on the way to producing 161 kills, 42 blocks, 79 digs and five aces over 2024 and 2025.
 
• Annis, who has also spent time as outside hitter since coming to SRU, ranked third for The Rock in aces (21), fifth in digs (185) and fifth in kills (99) last year.
 
• Defensive specialist / outside hitter Gwen McCarthy was one of four Rock athletes to eclipse the 100-kill plateau a year ago, finishing with 109 (1.88 k/s) on a .142 attack percentage while also making 42 digs and 12 blocks in 21 matches (11 starts).
 
RUMBAUGH LOOKS TO BUILD ON PROMISING ROOKIE YEAR
Outside hitter Emry Rumbaugh enjoyed a productive first season at The Rock in 2025 as the Kittanning, Pennsylvania native closed her rookie year out having started 20 of 26 matches played on the way to totaling 177 kills (1.79 k/s) on a .172 attack percentage to go with 59 blocks.
 
Rumbaugh, who had seven double-digit kill matches and six contests with four or more blocks, is SRU's top returning leader in both kills and blocks from a season ago. Her 177 kills were the sixth most by a rookie at The Rock in the last decade.
 
Kills By a Rock Freshman (Last 10 Years)
1. Erica Selfridge (2021): 265
2. Beth Stumpf (2015): 224
3. Erinn Kahoe (2017): 222
4. Abigail Koeller (2019): 220
5. Chelsie Wheeler (2021): 186
6. Emry Rumbaugh (2025): 177
7. Stephanie Jacobsen (2017): 170  
8. Callie Chevalier (2022): 165
9. Gabby Huck (2018): 164              
10. Shayla Ray (2015): 157
 
FRESHMAN ORIENTATION
The Rock's 2026 first-year class is made up of eight athletes covering the entire court. The new enrollees come from five states in Minnesota (1), New York (1), Ohio (1), Pennsylvania (4) and Washington (1).
 
2026 SRU Rookie Class
Name: Position-Height-Hometown (in Pennsylvania unless noted)
Erica Brouse: Outside Hitter - 5-11 - Ebensburg
Ryan Cameron: Middle Blocker - 6-0 - Homestead
Bailey España: Setter - 5-9 - La Center, Washington
Ellie Friedrichs: Outside Hitter - 5-9 - Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Ali Haynes: Middle Blocker / Opposite - 6-0 - Portville, New York
Emily Loeffler: Setter / Opposite - 6-0 - Avon Lake, Ohio 
Maggie Means: Libero - 5-5 - Meadville
Chloe Shirk: Middle Blocker - 6-0 – Lebanon
 
EXTENDING THE FOOTPRINT
While the majority of The Rock's 2026 roster (17 of 23) hails from what could be considered Slippery Rock's traditional recruiting territory of Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio there are a solid group of athletes on this year's team from states not traditionally associated with SRU volleyball.
 
Ellie Friedrichs - Eden Prairie, Minnesota: Friedrichs is the first athlete to play volleyball at The Rock from the state of Minnesota.
 
Bailey España - La Center, Washington: España is the first athlete to play volleyball at The Rock from the state of Washington.
 
Addison Jones - Arlington Heights, Illinois: Jones is just the second Rock volleyball athlete from the state of Illinois: Mary Johnston (East Moline) was the first in 1986.
 
Marley Annis - South Bend, Indiana: Annis is one of three Rock athletes from the state of Indiana to play volleyball at Slippery Rock, joining Kaylee Smith (Muncie / 2008-11) and Stephanie Vaughan (Noblesville / 2013).
 
Hayden Deming - Mattawan, Michigan / Alayna Esselink - Richmond, Michigan: While not as rare as the above states, Deming and Esselink are two of just eight athletes in the documented history of SRU volleyball from Michigan and the first since Paige Weeder (Grand Blanc / 2021-23). Included in the Michigan alumnae is arguably the best athlete in program history in Slippery Rock Hall of Famer Anastasia Urbanik (Otsego / 2005-08).
 
SISTER ACT
This year's Slippery Rock program includes a set of sisters in junior outside hitter Ava Haynes and freshman middle blocker / opposite Ali Haynes. The Haynes' will be the third set of sisters to play on the same Slippery Rock team in the last six years: Jiley and Mary Berger played together from 2020-23 while Jordan and Jalynn West briefly were rostered together in 2023.
 
NEXT FIVE MATCHES
Sept. 4 (10 a.m.) vs. Cedarville*
Sept. 4 (4 p.m.) vs. Post*
Sept. 5 (Noon) at Davenport
Sept. 5 (2 p.m.) vs. Saginaw Valley State^
Sept. 11 (5 p.m.) vs. Frostburg State
 
* Match played in Allendale, Michigan
^ Match played in Grand Rapids, Michigan
 
RECORDS WATCH
Assists (12-16)
12. Sarah Cybulski (2001-02): 1,300
13. Stephanie Kluge (1999-02): 1,171
14. Alexandra Fleagle (2010-13): 885
15. Michele Shatto (1994-97): 822
16. Paityn Krause (Active): 783      
 
Digs (17-20)
17. Kaylee Smith (2008-11): 1,284
18. Andrea Hoover (1995-98): 1,194
19. Lindsay Weber (2002-05): 1,169
20. Layna Heilman-Houser (2002-05): 1,163
NR. Kara Pasquale (Active): 669          
   
POINT PARK PRIMER
Roster: Link
2025 Final Stats: Link
2025 Record: 4-23
2025 Home Record: 1-8
2025 Away Record: 2-10
2025 Neutral Site Record: 1-5
MEC North Preseason Poll: 5th
Head Coach: Nicole Bajuszik | 1st season at PPU (0-0) | 13th overall (152-204)
 
TOP PIONEER RETURNERS (2025 stats)
ATTACK: Nicole Reasbeck (287 kills / .170), Patricia Calero-Irizarry (96 kills / .078)
ASSISTS: Marianna Oyola-Rivera (743 / 7.99 per set)
ACES: Oyola-Rivera (39), Reasbeck (30)
DIGS: Oyola-Rivera (248 / 2.67 per set)
BLOCKS: Patricia Calero-Irizarry (65), Savannah Kitchen (63)
 
LAKE ERIE PRIMER
Roster: Link
2025 Final Stats: Link
2025 Record: 11-18
2025 Home Record: 3-7
2025 Away Record: 4-6
2025 Neutral Site Record: 4-5
G-MAC East Preseason Poll: 3rd
Head Coach: Hannah Zuchowski | 1st season at LEC (0-0)
 
TOP STORM RETURNERS (2025 stats)
ATTACK: Allison Kirch (209 kills / .176), Sadie Nawrocki (132 kills / .160)
ASSISTS: Kylie Anderson (459 / 4.41 per set)
ACES: Kirch (17), Kennady Wiley (17)
DIGS: Cecelia Mullen (368 / 3.72 per set)
BLOCKS: Wiley (70), Kennedy Stewart (57)
 
SETON HILL PRIMER
Roster: Link
2025 Final Stats: Link
2025 Record: 15-12
2025 Home Record: 8-2
2025 Away Record: 2-8
2025 Neutral Site Record: 5-2
PSAC West Preseason Poll: 6th
Head Coach: Cassidy Snider | 1st season at SHU (0-0)
 
TOP GRIFFIN RETURNERS (2025 stats)
ATTACK: Catie Flohr (314 kills / .290), Emma Meurer (113 kills / .223)
ASSISTS: Mallory Meinen (438 / 5.48 per set)
ACES: Flohr (34), Maddie Stout (34)
DIGS: Kendyl Wagner (429 / 4.33 per set)
BLOCKS: Flohr (95), Meurer (89)
 
UP NEXT
The Rock heads to Michigan for four matches Sept. 4-5 at the Hampton Inn and Suites Grand Rapids Downtown Classic.
 
 
 


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