The Shadow
BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech volleyball is preparing for the 2026 season as the team started to work together in June. The Hokies had a record of 12-19 (4-16) in 2025, achieving three more ACC wins compared to the prior season.
Marci Byers, Virginia Tech’s head coach, addressed the improvement of her team in the offseason, “During the spring, even off the court in the weight room, this team took a jump forward in leadership, culture and competitive playing in our spring matches.”
The returning Hokies are Camilla Brandalise, Izzy Mishler, Adeline Hundl, Reese Hazelton, Ivy Cooper, Ece Yildiz, Georgia Trexler and Paloma Zubiri.
In 2025, Virginia Tech’s offense took a step up, according to Byers. As a sophomore, Mishler led the team with a solid 0.349 hitting percentage averaging 2.59 points per set, being one of the Hokies’ most reliable attackers. “Izzy is the player who I’m the most excited to see,” Byers said. “She only played one match in her freshman year, and seeing the work she put in the spring to get where she was in the fall, that was a story for the ages.”
“Looking back, I’m not sure if anybody knew she was going to make that big of a leap, but we’re happy she made that leap,” Byers added, referring to Mishler’s improvement from her freshman to her sophomore season.
The returning starters, Brandalise and Hazelton, made appearances in all 111 sets. Throughout the season Brandalise averaged 5.49 assists per set. In her freshman campaign, Cooper earned the starting position competing in 97 sets and averaging 2.07 digs per set. Brandalise led the team with 38 aces on the season, followed by Mishler with 25 and Cooper with 23.
During the offseason, Tech added four transfers and seven freshmen to the team.
Pin hitters junior Destiny Walker and senior Frances Torres-Esperanza have brought experience to the roster since their arrival in January.
At Eastern Illinois, Walker led her team and was second in the Ohio Valley Conference in kills per set (3.98). Walker also brings international experience, being a former member of the Puerto Rican National Team. Torres-Esperanza arrived in Blacksburg after three successful seasons at Colgate. In her junior season, she recorded 152 kills and 72 block contributions, marking a total of 190.5 points.
Byers added a redshirt junior pin hitter, Sara Gasparini, who is a two-time national champion from her time at Florida Southwestern University. The freshmen pin hitters are Isabela Lopez, Avery Feltes and Santina Martcheva.
The two middles who were added to the roster are Layla Moore, who opened her collegiate career at CSUN, and freshman CeCe Sayles.
The two freshmen setters are Courtney Burguess and Camdyn Gonzalez. Freshman Avery Webb completes the libero position group alongside returners Cooper and Yildiz.
The athletes who joined in the spring; Burguess, Torres-Esperanza, Lopez, Walker and Webb, made their unofficial debut during spring scrimmages.
