Rutgers-Camden Athletics

Volleyball picked for sixth in NJAC pre-season coaches' poll

8/26/2025 11:06:00 AM

CAMDEN, N.J. (Aug. 26, 2025) – After seeing the pre-season predictions of the New Jersey Athletic Conference volleyball coaches, the 2025 NJAC race looks to be a wide-open affair. Four of the nine teams received first-place votes in the coaches' pre-season poll for the conference standings, which will determine the six-team playoff field that begins on November 11.
 
Rutgers-Camden, which has finished seventh in the NJAC for the last two years, has been picked to finish sixth in the NJAC in the coaches' poll released today.
 
Perennial NJAC power Stockton University was picked for the top spot in the poll, receiving three of the nine first-place votes from the conference's coaches, but defending champion William Paterson University received four first-place votes while being tabbed for second place. Paterson swept Stockton in the NJAC championship match last season.
 
Montclair State University was picked for third place, receiving one first-place vote, and Kean University was tabbed as the NJAC's "dark horse" team while being picked for fourth place. Rowan University received the other first-place vote and was picked fifth, followed in order by Rutgers-Camden, Ramapo College, Rutgers University-Newark and New Jersey City University.
 
The 2024 Scarlet Raptors had their first losing season in four years, finishing at 6-20 overall and 2-6 in the NJAC. They lost four players from their roster, but return seven letterwinners, including seniors Avery Ang and Sophia LaPorta. Ang, a setter, enters her third season at Rutgers-Camden with 561 assists as a Scarlet Raptor. Combined with her freshman season at Medaille University, she owns 1,013 collegiate assists. LaPorta, meanwhile, will earn her fourth Rutgers-Camden volleyball letter in addition to lettering on the school's indoor and outdoor track teams. The defensive specialist has collected 268 digs at Rutgers-Camden.
 
Another key setter for the Scarlet Raptors is junior JoAnna Andrews, who has collected 808 career assists in her two seasons at Rutgers-Camden. She is poised to become only the fifth player to pass 1,000 career assists as a Scarlet Raptor.
 
Third-year juniors Mia Owens and Madison Snelgrove give the Raptors plenty of defensive help, with Owens' 692 career digs putting the team's libero on pace to become the sixth Raptor in the career 1,000-dig club. Owens led the team with 381 digs last season.
 
Versatile junior outside hitter/right side/setter Sofia Granieri led the team in kills (228) and finished second in digs (251) last season, while sophomore middle blocker Gabby Gbolahan finished second on the team in both kills (212) and blocks (50) last season as a rookie. She also led the team with 36 service aces). The Raptors also will benefit with the return of outside hitter/right side Lauren Rich, who missed the entire 2024 season with injuries and retains her freshman eligibility.
 
Newcomers include a quartet of freshmen in defensive specialist/libero Ella Carmen Truitt, setter Cassie Guim, outside hitter Asha Pensa Johnson, and middle blocker/opposite Jana Jovanovic. Another new Scarlet Raptor is sophomore outside hitter/right side Taylor White, a transfer from NJAC rival Rutgers-Newark, who played in seven matches with the Scarlet Raiders last season.
 
Head Coach David Gurst returns for his 11th season, with a staff that includes veteran assistant Paul Lano, second-year assistant Lydia Bauer and a pair of former Raptor stars as volunteer assistants, Brinn Hassan and Morgan Fox.
 
Rutgers-Camden opens its season at the DeSales University Tournament on Labor Day weekend, with its first match scheduled for Friday, August 29 at 5 p.m. against Eastern University. The Raptors play two matches at DeSales on Saturday, facing the host team at 10 a.m. and playing Muhlenberg College at 12 p.m.