Sep 24, TBD
Clark (MA) vs WPI
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Wellesley College[ vs Salve Regina
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Emerson College vs Babson College
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Smith College vs Mount Holyoke Coll
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Springfield vs Wheaton
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United States Coas vs M.I.T.
Sep 28, TBD
M.I.T. vs Springfield
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Mount Holyoke Coll vs Salve Regina
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Wellesley College[ vs Wheaton
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Emerson College vs WPI
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Smith College vs Clark (MA)
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Babson College vs United States Coas
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Springfield vs Clark (MA)
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WPI vs Smith College
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Salve Regina vs M.I.T.

Setters Highlight List Of Biggest NCAA Women's Volleyball Transfers

Setters Highlight List Of Biggest NCAA Women's Volleyball Transfers

Some big names in NCAA women's volleyball have decided to transfer ahead of the 2018 season. Who's switching schools?

Jan 16, 2018 by Megan Kaplon
Setters Highlight List Of Biggest NCAA Women's Volleyball Transfers

The 2018 women’s college volleyball season is still eight months away, but big changes are happening that will affect the performance of the top teams come fall. College coaches are being hired and fired, and some key players are choosing to transfer to new schools.

Some of those transfers are related to the departure of their head coach. Some are looking for better playing time, or to move closer to home.

Here are some of the most intriguing transfers so far.

Outside Hitter Gia Milana From Maryland To Baylor

Four-year Maryland head coach Steve Aird is leaving to take over at Indiana, and Milana — the Terps star player for the past two years — is not sticking around to find out who the next head coach will be.

An unnamed Baylor spokesperson told the Maryland student newspaper The Diamondback that Milana had visited BU’s campus and was planning on transferring to the Texas school.

In the same article, Milana’s mother was quoted as saying, “Gia never had any intentions of leaving and wanted to be a part of making coach Steve's vision a reality. She bought into the dream of building a program and winning a national championship. Steve leaving was devastating to her.”



Milana is the only First-Team Under Armour High School All-American ever to play at Maryland, and the highest-ranked recruit in program history. Additionally, she’s not the only impact player to leave the Terrapin squad following the 2017 season.

Libero Kelsey Wicinski From Maryland To Florida State

Wicinski led Maryland with 301 digs in 2017, despite missing a large portion of the season due to injury. At the time of her injury, she led the Big Ten with 4.78 digs per set. 

Wicinski will have one season of eligibility left to use at Florida State, and the Seminoles will be looking for a new starting libero next fall after graduating three-year starter Cecilie Woie.

Florida State also graduated its top two kills producers Milica Kubura and Natasha Calkins, but they’re bringing in an outside hitter transfer to help fill the gap.

Outside Hitter Payton Caffrey From West Virginia To Florida State

Caffrey did it all for West Virginia in 2017, leading the Mountaineers in kills, points, and aces and ranking second in digs. In transferring to Florida State, the 6-foot sophomore will be only four and a half hours away from her hometown of Chuluota, Florida. 

Caffrey made a big difference for West Virginia, helping the team win three Big 12 matches in 2016 after not winning a single conference match in 2015, and becoming the first WVU player to be named first-team All-Big 12. In 2017, with her contributions, WVU doubled its conference wins to six. 

Outside Hitter Michaela Putnicki From Penn State To Wichita State

Current Penn State volunteer assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt recruited Putnicki at Virginia, where he was the head coach from 2012 to 2016, and when he resigned she followed him to Penn State. Now the 2016 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year has decided to try her luck at Wichita State. 

This move is particularly intriguing because Penn State graduated both of its starting outside hitters and Putnicki would have been one of only two remaining outsides on the Nittany Lion roster, with none coming in with the 2018 recruiting class either. 

Wichita State graduates two pin hitters — Abbie Lehman and Mikaela Raudsepp — who were two of the top three kills producers for the Shockers in 2017. 

Outside Hitter Marijke Van Dyke From Illinois To Louisville

One of the top recruits in the class of 2017 and a product of the famous Sports Performance club in Chicago, Van Dyke is transferring from Illinois to Louisville after a freshman season in which she played in only nine sets. 

A recruit of former Illinois head coach Kevin Hambly before he left for Stanford, Van Dyke joins a Louisville team that is returning both OH starters from 2017 — Amanda Green and Melanie McHenry.

Setter Olivia Dailey From Kentucky To Ohio State

Dailey was Kentucky’s starting setter in 2016, quarterbacking the team to a 23-8 record and an NCAA second-round appearance before losing her spot to current freshman Madison Lilley. 

In transferring to Ohio State, Dailey will help the Buckeyes fill the hole left by three-year starting setter Taylor Hughes’ decision to stop competing.

Ohio State has not officially announced Hughes’ decision to leave the team, but in the press release detailing Dailey’s transfer to OSU, Buckeye head coach Geoff Carlston said, “With Taylor Hughes done competing we needed to find a strong setter to join Becca Mauer on our team.”

Dailey isn’t the only Wildcat coming to Columbus, either.

Middle Blocker Jordan Fry From Kentucky To Ohio State

Cincinnati native Fry returns to her home state after two years at Kentucky. The redshirt freshman had seniors Emily Franklin and Kaz Brown in front of her on the depth chart at UK and saw action in only five sets in 2017.

Both of Ohio State’s starting middles — Madison Smeathers and Lauren Witte — from the 2017 will return in the fall; however, opposite Ashley Wenz, the Buckeyes’ second-highest kills contributor is graduating, which could perhaps open up a spot for Fry if she proves to be versatile in the front row.



Setter Kylee McLaughlin From Oregon State To Oklahoma

During her freshman season at Oregon State, Kylee McLaughlin earned the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honor and helped the Beavers go 21-12 and earn an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. 

But her time in Corvallis has already come to an end, as the 2016 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year announced her decision to transfer to Oklahoma via Twitter. The Sooners’ starting setter Audrey Alford is graduating, as is back-up setter Morgan Miller. In Norman, McLaughlin will play for first-year Oklahoma coach Lindsey Gray-Walton. 



Setter Montanna Guburd From Linn Benton Community College To Oregon State

With McLaughlin not returning for 2018, Oregon State is bringing on community college transfer Montanna Guburd. The two-time AVCA two-year college All-American comes to Corvallis with two years of eligibility remaining after setting a new career assists record at Linn Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon.

Although only 5-6, Guburd makes up for her lack of height with athleticism. The three-sport athlete in at McMinnville High School won a state championship in the long jump her senior season and was a four-time all-league selection in the 100 meter hurdles.

Setter Jaden Newsome From Colorado To Missouri

After redshirting in 2017, Newsome will have four seasons of eligibility to use at Missouri. The 6-0 Texas native came to Colorado as one of the top-ranked setters in her recruiting class, but found herself riding the bench behind classmate Brynna DeLuzio, who led Colorado to the Sweet 16 this fall.



Before going to Colorado, Newsome had an impressive high school career, setting Clear Brook High School records for assists, digs, and kills and earning Third-Team Under Armour All-America honors.

Setter Megan Sharkey From Rutgers To Creighton

In an article by the Omaha World Herald, former Rutgers setter Megan Sharkey said of her decision to transfer to Creighton, “[The last two years] have also taught me that I love winning. I’m such a competitive person. I was just tired of losing.”



With Creighton’s starting setter Lydia Dimke graduating and starting her beach volleyball career this spring at South Carolina and back-up setter Jaclyn Taylor transferring to Nebraska-Omaha, Creighton was in desperate need of a setter to come in ready to make a difference immediately.

Sharkey is already enrolled at Creighton, which is four and a half hours away from her hometown of Bettendorf, Iowa, where she made it to the state championship match all four year, winning two state titles.

Setter Hunter Atherton From Nebraska To …?

Hunter Atherton, who started at the setter position for Nebraska in two matches in 2017 while Kelly Hunter was injured, has announced her decision to leave the Husker program.

Atherton has not yet announced where she’ll be transferring. After redshirting the 2016 season, she’ll have three years of eligibility left to use at her new school.

With Hunter graduating and Atherton transferring, there’s no doubt that incoming Husker freshman Nicklin Hames will start immediately in 2018.

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