Volleyball 12/2/2025 10:00:00 AM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Volleyball Braces for NCAA Tournament Showdown Against Findlay

The Warriors and Oilers have only met twice in the last nine seasons with each team winning once.

DETROIT -- The moment is nearly here for the Wayne State University volleyball team's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern for the Midwest Regional quarterfinals, the fourth-seeded Warriors (24-5 overall) will take on fifth-seeded Findlay (23-5 overall) inside top-seeded UMSL's Mark Twain Building.

Coach's Corner
"Thursday's match against Findlay should be exciting," said 12th-year head coach Tim Koth. "Both teams want to do similar things on offense and both are extremely competitive. I expect that this will come down to who executes better in the serve and pass phases of the game ... as it often does."

Scouting the Opponent
Findlay, led by 29th-year head coach Wick Colchagoff (575-317 overall record), is making a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth overall. The Oilers matched Wayne State's longest winning streak of the season at eight, but did so twice, Sept. 12-Oct. 3 and Oct. 24-Nov. 14. With that being said, two of UF's five losses have come in the team's last three matches, 3-2 to Hillsdale in the regular-season finale and 3-1 to Ohio Dominican in the G-MAC Tournament semifinals.

Findlay boasts one of the best offenses in the country as it ranks third in Division II for assists per set (13.85), sixth in hitting percentage (.281, first regionally), sixth in kills per set (14.71, second regionally), 38th in total assists (1,371) and 48th in total kills (1,456).  This season, the Oilers have produced three matches with a hitting percentage of .400 or higher and 14 at .300 or better.

Individually, the attack runs through senior setter and G-MAC Player of the Year Emma White, the conference's first-ever setter to win that award. A four-time First Team All-G-MAC selection, White averages 11.82 assists per set, which ranks third nationally, and has totaled 1,158 assists this season, good for fourth in the region. White surpassed 5,000 career assists in the Great Midwest semifinals, becoming just the third player in program history to do so. The Tiffin, Ohio, native has recorded 15 double-doubles (assists and digs) this season. Also a threat at the service line, White is averaging 0.49 aces per set, the most of any player in the tournament. Defensively, she adds steady production with 2.67 digs per set and 262 on the year.

On the outside, UF's top two threats are seniors Makenna Belcher and Lauren Foerster. Both First Team All-G-MAC honorees, Belcher recorded 384 kills, an average of 3.92 per set, the fourth-highest mark in the region, while hitting .276 and adding 2.38 digs per set. Foerster has also been a key contributor, averaging 3.11 kills per set with a .334 hitting percentage and 39 total blocks. They're joined by senior Alana Pohlman in the middle, a Second Team All-G-MAC recipient.  Pohlman leads her squad in blocks with 61, 0.67 per set, to go with 2.54 kills per set and a .343 hitting percentage, ninth best in the region.

Junior Hannah Miller, both an outside hitter and libero, is on top of the dig department with 302 or 3.08 per set.

Warrior Weapons
Starting at the team level, Wayne State is among the country's top 40 in several statistical categories. That includes 26th in kills per set (13.8), 26th in blocks per set (2.33), 28th in total blocks (251.5), 29th in assists per set (12.75), 33rd in hitting percentage (.241), 36th in opponent hitting percentage (.149) and 36th in total assists (1,377).

Just like Findlay, Wayne State presents one of the best setters in the region in junior Kayla Dulgar (Warsaw, Ohio / River View). Dulgar is fifth in the region and 20th nationally for both assists per set (10.5) and total assists (1,134).

In the middle, senior Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.) will spearhead the Warriors' plan of attack.  Giroux, the GLIAC Player of the Year, is 12th in all of Division II for hitting percentage (.390), 20th in points per set (4.62), 22nd in total kills (421), 30th in kills per set (3.9), 40th in total blocks (117) and 52nd in blocks per set (1.08). Keep an eye on Katerina Stout (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota), the GLIAC Freshman of the Year, in the middle as well with just as many blocks per set to her name to go with 181 kills and a .263 output.

On the outside, junior Paige Giehtbrock (Clarkston, Mich. [Rider]) paces the team in attacks (957) with 303 kills and a .172 hitting percentage. Fifth-year senior Leigha Baldwin (Perrysburg, Ohio [Purdue Fort Wayne]) is behind Giroux and Giehtbrock for kills with 237 and a .319 efficiency, while rookie Lauren Essenpreis has accounted for 132 kills.

Behind the service line, Dulgar has been the best with 39 aces, while senior Kendyl Andrews (Flushing, Mich.) has registered 422 digs, 138 more than the next-closest Warrior.

Recent History
Former GLIAC foes Wayne State and Findlay have met 24 times since 2005 with each team accounting for 12 wins in those two decades. With that being said, they've only faced off twice in the last nine seasons. The Warriors were victorious in straight sets in 2022 before being swept by the Oilers in 2023.

Quarterfinal Schedule (All Times Eastern)
5:30 p.m. (Match #3)
1 - Missouri-St. Louis (26-4, GLVC Tournament Champion)
8 - UIndy (20-11)

8 p.m. (Match #4)
4 - Wayne State (24-5, GLIAC Tournament Champion)
5 - Findlay (23-5)

2:30 p.m. (Match #2)
2 - Ohio Dominican (26-5, G-MAC Tournament Champion)
7 - Rockhurst (21-10)

12 p.m. (Match #1)
3 - Ferris State (24-7)
6 - Quincy (24-6)

The four quarterfinal winners will advance to Friday's semifinals at 5 p.m. Eastern (Match #1 winner vs. Match #2 winner) and 8 p.m. Eastern (Match #3 winner vs. Match #4) winner. Saturday's regional championship match is slated for 6 p.m. Eastern.

Regional Field's Tournament History

Team	Consecutive Appearances	Overall Appearances	Record	Best Finish
Ferris State	14	29	28-29	4th
Findlay	2	8	6-7	-
Missouri-St. Louis	6	9	8-8	3rd
Ohio Dominican	1	FIRST EVER	-	-
Quincy	4	4	1-3	-
Rockhurst	11	18	23-17	3rd (x2)
UIndy	1 (first since 2019)	11	14-10	3rd
Wayne State	1 (first since 2021)	4	0-3	-

Tickets
NCAA Midwest Regional Tickets

Follow the Action
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by the University of Missouri- St. Louis and streamed on NCAA.com.
Live Stream
Live Stats

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Players Mentioned

#6 Kendyl Andrews: DS/L; 5' 8"; Senior

#4 Leigha Baldwin: MB/OPP; 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior

#5 Kayla Dulgar: S; 5' 9"; Junior

#10 Lauren Essenpreis: OH; 5' 11"; Freshman

#11 Kayla Giroux: MB; 6' 1"; Senior

#15 Katerina Stout: MB; 6' 1"; Freshman

#12 Paige Giehtbrock: OH; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#6 Kendyl Andrews
: 5' 8"; Senior
: DS/L

#4 Leigha Baldwin
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Senior
: MB/OPP

#5 Kayla Dulgar
: 5' 9"; Junior
: S

#10 Lauren Essenpreis
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: OH

#11 Kayla Giroux
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MB

#15 Katerina Stout
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: MB

#12 Paige Giehtbrock
: 6' 1"; Junior
: OH