Women's Volleyball | 10/19/2023 1:45:28 PM
The Empire 8 Conference is celebrating the league’s 25th Anniversary season in 2023-24, honoring student-athletes, teams, coaches and administrators who have played a key role in the league’s success over the last 25 years. Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball is no exception, as several individuals and teams have excelled at the conference, national and regional levels.
Ithaca College was awarded the first E8 Women’s Volleyball Championship in 1999 as the top team in the regular season, followed by Elmira College the next season. In 2002, the league held its first Empire 8 Championship Tournament to crown a league championship, as Nazareth University claimed its second of a league-high eight titles over the first quarter century of play. Five different institutions have claimed E8 titles, as Ithaca has won six Empire 8 Championships, while Stevens has five titles and St. John Fisher has won the last four league crowns.
In 2021, Alea Steigerwald of St. John Fisher became the league’s first four-time Empire 8 Player of the Year. Sydni Horner of Stevens was the 2014 E8 Rookie of the Year and a three-time Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year (2015-17). Steigerwald, Horner and Maggie Kowalska in addition Mary Tobin of Stevens are four-time All-Empire 8 first team selections.
Christa Downey, who played at Nazareth from 2000-2002 was a three-time AVCA First Team All-American. She amassed 2,984 kills in just three seasons to rank among the all-time leaders in NCAA Division III history and set the NCAA Division III record for most kills in a season with 1,065 in 2002 and holds the record most kills per set in a career with 7.35. Downey’s former teammate and former All-American Tricia Jones (2001-04) is the only other Empire 8 student-athlete to amass 2,000 kills in a career.
Former Ithaca and current Hartwick College head coach Janet Donovan holds the E8 record with 437 coaching wins in addition to six Empire 8 titles, while Cal Wickens of Nazareth, a three-time E8 Coach of the Year and six-time champ is right behind with 407 victories. Legendary Elmira coach Rhonda Faunce won 369 contests as an E8 member. Kelly Greapentrog of St. John Fisher has led the Cardinals to four consecutive league championships. Linda Downey of Nazareth recorded a .783 winning percentage with two league titles in the E8’s first four seasons, while J.J. O’Connell of Stevens won three E8 Championships and recorded a .746 winning percentage from 2007-11.
An Empire 8 team advanced to the NCAA National Quarterfinals four times, first Ithaca in 1999 and then Nazareth in both 2001 and 2002 and Stevens also in 2007.
Below we are honoring members of the Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team. Recipients were chosen by the league office and were named either a Player of the Year, First, Second or Third All-American or earned All-Empire 8 first team honors at least three times in their collegiate careers.
Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team
Maria Allocco, MB, Nazareth
Christina Anabel, OH, RIT
Sarah Byrne, OH, Stevens
Christa Downey, OH, Nazareth
Samantha Gates, S, Stevens
Joelle Goldstein, OH, Ithaca
Sydni Horner, L/DS, Stevens
Braelyn Hornick, S, Hartwick
Amanda Hubbard, OH, Ithaca
Tricia Jones, MB, Nazareth
Maggie Kowalska, OPP, Stevens
Casey King, OH, Stevens
Anna Marcy, OH, St. John Fisher
Leah Malliris, MH, Elmira
Darian Ortiz, L/DS, Alfred
Melissa Rhode, S/RS, Stevens
Ushi Patel, S, RIT
Jessica Raymond, MH, Ithaca
Julia Roth, OH, Ithaca
Amber Smith, OH, Alfred
Alea Steigerwald, OH, St. John Fisher
Mary Tobin, OH, Stevens
Melanie Volk, OH, Stevens
Sasha Zavadska, OH, Elmira
Kate Zwickl, S, Nazareth
Founded in 1999, the Empire 8 has developed into one of the premier NCAA Division III athletic conferences, both on the field and in the classroom. The conference has created and implemented innovative and groundbreaking sportsmanship programming over this time, many of our which have received great publicity, including features in USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The NCAA News, and various athletic profession publications. The Empire 8 has also been highly influential in helping to shape the Division III landscape, passing many legislative proposals along with individuals who hold leadership roles at the national level.
Feature stories and series’ celebrating the league’s 25th anniversary will be highlighted on the conference's website and social media platforms throughout the 2023-24 season, starting in September. The conference will also be using the #E825 and #E8Anniversary hashtags on its Twitter and Instagram platforms as a way for fans to follow along throughout the year.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
EMPIRE 8 SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube –
Facebook –
Twitter –
Instagram