Saturday, September 12
Easton, PA
6:00 PM
Quinnipiac University
vs
Penn
Photo by: Sean Holmes / OTM Studios
Bobcats Ready for Leopard Invitational
9/11/2026 1:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Quinnipiac at Leopard Invitational
Quinnipiac vs. PennSaturday, Sept. 12 | 6:00 PM
Easton, PA | Kirby Sports Center
Watch (YouTube) | Live Stats
Quinnipiac vs. Lafayette
Sunday, Sept. 13 | 1:30 PM
Easton, PA | Kirby Sports Center
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats
Quinnipiac vs. Rhode Island
Sunday, Sept. 13 | 4:30 PM
Easton, PA | Kirby Sports Center
Watch (YouTube) | Live Stats
EASTON, PA – Quinnipiac women's volleyball readies for its third non-conference tournament of the 2026 campaign this weekend, heading to Pennsylvania to compete in the Leopard Invitational.
The Bobcats will square off with Penn, Lafayette (the tournament host), and Rhode Island over the weekend of action.
OPENING WEEKEND
- Quinnipiac faced off with both Air Force and Boston College during the first weekend of the regular season in Chestnut Hill.
- Sahra Ozbiltekin led the Bobcats with 19 kills over two contests. She tallied 12 kills vs. Air Force in the first contest of the new year.
- Giulia Ragusa registered 15 kills, while Asia Belli added 12.
- Sophia Gisslen (32 assists) and Klara Olszewska (29 assists) led the Bobcats in assists.
- On the defensive side, Carola Negron Diaz tallied 22 digs over the first two games, while both Sila Yildiz and Azra Ozbiltekin recorded 4.0 blocks.
- Quinnipiac dropped a Sept. 4 contest vs. Lehigh, 3-1, to open tournament action, then split Sept. 5 action with a loss vs. Delaware State, 3-2, and a win over NJIT, 3-0.
- With the 3-0 victory over the Highlanders on Saturday night, Quinnipiac Head Coach Kyle Robinson earned his 100th career win with the Bobcats. He reaches the milestone mark in his eighth season (2019–present).
- Giulia Ragusa led the Bobcats with 31 kills across the two contests on Saturday, including a team-high 12 kills during the victory over NJIT. She posted a .394 attack percentage over the two games.
- Klara Olszewska recorded 81 total assists over the two matches on Saturday, dishing out a new career-high 56 assists against Delaware State and adding 25 more in the victory over NJIT.
- Quinnipiac women's volleyball first-year athlete Giulia Ragusa has been selected as the Metro Volleyball Rookie of the Week after her performance at the DSU Invitational this past weekend, as revealed by the league office on Sept. 8, 2026.
- Ragusa finished the non-conference tournament hosted at Delaware State with 35 kills over three contests. She also registered 16 digs for the Bobcats. Ragusa recorded 31 kills on the final day of tournament action with 19 against DSU, then 12 more in a win vs. NJIT. She posted a .394 attack percentage over those two games.
- The Lavagno, Italy-native leads all Bobcats with 50 kills over five matches so far this year. She's played in 16 sets so far in 2026.
- Key returners for the Bobcats in 2026 include junior Carola Negron Diaz, and sophomores Asia Belli and Vittoria Tonelli.
- Carola Negron Diaz finished second on the team with 344 digs last year as a sophomore, averaging 3.41 digs per set. She also tallied 123 assists and 23 service aces. Diaz posted 25.0 points from the libero position. She also tallied 20+ digs in three different contests.
- Asia Belli started 30 matches for the Bobcats during her first season in Hamden. She recorded 136 kills and finished fourth on the team with 62 total blocks. Belli added 34 service aces, 63 digs and 207.0 total points.
- Vittoria Tonelli appeared in 23 matches as a first-year Bobcat in 2025, finishing fourth on the team with 126 kills. She also tallied 113 digs and 14 blocks. Tonelli registered a season-high 14 kills vs. Sacred Heart on 10/25/25.
- Quinnipiac has 13 total student-athletes on its 2026 roster, including seven newcomers (Veronica Patti, Farah Sherif, Sophia Gisslen, Giulia Ragusa, Sophia Minlend, Didar Bulbul, Sila Yildiz).
- The Bobcats represent seven different countries in total. Quinnipiac volleyball has four student-athletes from Italy, four from Turkey, one from Poland, one from Egypt, one from Germany, one from Puerto Rico and one from the United States.
- Reigning MAAC Coach of the Year Kyle Robinson enters his eighth season at the helm of the Quinnipiac volleyball program in 2026. Robinson, Quinnipiac volleyball's all-time winningest coach, has guided the Bobcats to 100 total wins during 7+ years.
- He led the Bobcats to a MAAC title & NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022, and was recently named MAAC Coach of the Year in 2025 after leading Quinnipiac to 19 wins.
- Robinson and the Bobcats have posted three consecutive seasons with a winning overall record.
- The Quinnipiac women's volleyball program has been selected second overall in the 2026 Metro Preseason Coaches' Poll, as revealed by the league office on Thursday, Aug. 20.
- The Bobcats (127 points) finished just behind Fairfield (142 points) for the top overall spot. Quinnipiac earned one first-place vote in the preseason poll.
| 2026 Metro Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll | ||
| 1 | Fairfield | 142 (10) |
| 2 | Quinnipiac | 127 (1) |
| 3 | Rider | 110 (1) |
| 4 | Canisius | 101 |
| 5 | Niagara | 81 |
| 6 | Siena | 80 |
| 7 | Sacred Heart | 77 |
| 8 | Marist | 62 |
| 9 | Iona | 55 |
| 10 | Merrimack | 48 |
| 11 | Saint Peter's | 28 |
| 12 | Manhattan | 25 |
2026 METRO VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
- The 2026 Metro Volleyball Championship will feature a six-team, single-elimination format and is scheduled for November 17-23. The first-round match will be hosted by the higher seed on Tuesday, November 17. The semifinals and championship final will be hosted by the No. 1 seed and played on consecutive dates, with the schedule determined by the host institution between Friday, November 20 and Monday, November 23. For more information regarding the 2026 Metro Volleyball Championship, please visit here.
- Quinnipiac enjoyed another successful season in 2025, posting a 19-12 overall record and a 16-2 mark in MAAC play. The Bobcats earned the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Championship after posting one of the best conference records in program history.
- QU advanced to the MAAC Semifinals for the fourth time under Robinson. Quinnipiac closed the regular season on a high note with a five-set comeback victory over Canisius and continued its run as one of the conference's premier programs.
- A trio of Bobcats were named to the All-MAAC First: Damla Gunes, Elena Giacomini, and Yagmur Gunes.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
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OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
Libero/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballThursday, June 25
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