What to know about each team in the DII women’s volleyball quarterfinals

Just eight teams remain in the hunt for the 2025 DII women’s volleyball championship. There are plenty of familiar faces heading to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, ready to serve, spike and ace it up from Dec. 11-13.

FOLLOW: 2025 DII women's volleyball championship: Bracket, schedule, scores

Last year’s champion, Lynn, was sent home in the second round. That means there will be no title defense and opens the door for several teams. If you read the DII women’s volleyball preview, six of the eight regions (Atlantic, East, Midwest, South, South Central and Southeast) were projected correctly, so there aren’t too many surprises.

Let's take a look around the national quarterfinals. 

The quarterfinals by the numbers

It is a powerful field of eight playing for the national championship. Six No. 1 seeds made it out of their regions alive, so we are going to be treated to some intense, high-profile, very well-played volleyball. Only two of the remaining eight teams have won a national championship before; however, those two teams happen to be the two winningest programs in DII history. Concordia-St. Paul and Tampa have combined for 13 national championships… and each and every one of those 13 have come over the past 19 seasons. Wrap your head around that dominance.

Four teams — Gannon, Bentley, Ferris State and Wingate — are in the quarterfinals for a second year in a row. In fact, Bentley is here for the third year in a row and are 1-2 in the quarterfinals over that span. The only two “upset” specials that weren’t No. 1 seeds to advance were hardly upsets at all. They were No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul in the Central Region and No. 3 Ferris State in the Midwest. Being that Ferris State has reached the Midwest finals four years in a row, no one should be surprised the Bulldogs are back for more. 

Both MSU Denver and Point Loma are in the quarterfinals for the first time. They are they only two teams in the field to have never gone this far before.

The field of eight, broken down

Gannon Athletics

Gannon. The Golden Knights are always the bridesmaid, but never the bride. They have dominated the Atlantic Region for the past decade and are in their sixth quarterfinals since 2017… but they have never made it to the championship match. Gannon is led by a trio of All-Atlantic Region players in middle blocker Lauren Atwell, right-side hitter Sydney Wake and setter Bengisu Arslan, who was also the PSAC West athlete of the year after leading the PSAC with 11.2 assists per set, a top 10 mark in all DII. This team is loaded with talent and experience and look to end the championship drought.

Concordia-St. Paul. What else can be said about the Golden Bears? They just won their 13th Central Region title and are looking for national title No. 10. They haven’t won a championship since 2017 but were the national runners-up as recently as 2022. The Golden Bears own DII’s fourth-best hitting percentage and post the fifth-most assists per set. Outside hitter Makenna Nold became the sixth Golden Bear to be named the D2CCA Central Region player of the year, also taking home the AVCA’s honors. She led the NSIC in kills per set and is eighth in DII with 5.18 points per set. Middle blocker Mehlayna Straub joined Nold on the All-Region team. No surprises here: The Golden Bears are loaded and looking for another trophy.

Bentley Athletics

Bentley. Prior to the 2023 season, the Falcons had never won an East Region championship. Now, they have won all three since. If history progresses as it has, the Falcons have a chance at the finals, improving each year from one-and-done in 2023 to making the semifinals last year. The Falcons own the second-best opponents hitting percentage in DII and are led by four All-Region players in Elizabeth Blinn, Sophia Poehlein, Tory Vitko and Lulu Pavan. Blinn was also the NE10 defensive player of the year leading DII with 1.67 blocks per set, while Vitko earned NE10 setter of the year honors following up on her impressive 2024 All-Rookie campaign.

Ferris State. The Bulldogs are still dancing. On paper, they had one of the easiest roads to Sioux Falls, pulling off no upsets with wins over the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in that order. But do not sleep on this team, one that has become a perennial DII women’s volleyball power. Outside hitter Gabby Piazza and right-side hitter Emily May lead this team after earning All-Region honors, while setter Hayley Wegener joined both on the All-GLIAC First Team. The Bulldogs were the No. 1 seed last year and upset in the first round of the finals, so you can be sure they are out to prove the naysayers wrong in 2025.

Tampa Athletics

Tampa. The Spartans were absolutely dominant in 2025, leading DII in a couple of statistical categories. One of them is winning percentage, as they are now 31-0 and the last undefeated team standing. Tampa also leads DII in hitting percentage and are led by four AFCA All-Region players in middle blocker Jenna Davis, right-side hitter Nathaly Perez and outside hitters Connor Rahn and Tess Schrenger. Tampa last won a national championship in 2021, its fourth all-time, and with the momentum and talent this team has right now, a fifth is not out of the question.

Wingate. This isn’t simply the Bulldogs’ second-straight trip to the quarterfinals; it is their third in four years and eighth Southeast Region title in the past 15 years. They are second in DII in hitting percentage, fourth in kills per set, third in assists per set, fourth in digs per set and fifth in opponents hitting percentage. The Bulldogs are 31-1 and haven’t lost since the second match of the season, so they enter the tournament winners of 30 straight. Sydney Morland was the SAC player of the year as well as the AVCA and D2CCA Southeast Region player of the year as the only player with more than three kills per set and a hitting percentage over .400 to match. She is joined by Maddie Hoffman, Gabby Saye, Maya Van Heyst and Emily Johnson on the AFCA Southeast Region First Team. This team is loaded.

MSU Denver Athletics

MSU Denver. Finally. The Roadrunners are annually among the top 25 teams in DII and gracious co-hosts of the Colorado Premier Challenge. Despite making the tournament 25 years in a row, the Roadrunners have never been to the quarterfinals. That all changes this year, as the Roadrunners swept Angelo State in straight sets to advance. This team seems one of destiny as they also cleaned up in postseason honors. Karyna Werley was both the RMAC and South Central freshman of the year. She is joined on the AFCA All-South Central First Team by Alyssa Boyte, who was also the RMAC defensive player of the year and tournament MVP. And don’t forget Annika Helf, who also earned First Team All-Region honors. MSU Denver has watched the finals for so long, let’s see what it does as part of it.

Point Loma. The Sea Lions join MSU Denver as newbies to the national quarterfinals, fresh off the heels of their 3-1 victory over Fresno Pacific for their first West Region title. They are powered by a program-record four All-Region players, highlighted by outside hitter Abigail Nua who was named the D2CCA and AVCA West Region player of the year. She is top three in DII in both kills per set and points per set. Setter Sophia Baugh, Macy Reynolds — who was the PacWest libero of the year after leading the conference in digs — and middle blocker Jill Leslie also earned All-Region honors. The Sea Lions have a mountain of veteran powerhouses ahead of them, but we have seen stranger things happen in December.