STORM LAKE, Iowa (Aug. 27, 2025) - The Buena Vista University volleyball team kicks off its 2025 season this weekend, and the Beavers have their eyes set on a fast start and a stronger overall campaign this fall.
BVU is coming off a 5-20 (0-8 A-R-C) season in 2024 but with a bit more experience heading into this year for fourth-year head coach Will Baumann, the Beavers are looking to make great strides going forward.
Five starters are set to return for the team as well as five of the team's top-7 overall attackers. The Beavers look to become more efficient on the attack after hitting .103 a year ago. Junior Kyla Vaughn turned in 111 kills in 2024 which was good for second on the team as fellow junior Sydney Meints was just shy of triple digits during her sophomore campaign with 99 kills. Juniors Reese Nieuwenhuis (84) and Hope Vanderlinden (83) are also coming off strong offensive seasons, and with the strong core of returners back in the line-up, BVU will hope to improve on its 9.20 kills per set average which ranked ninth against American Rivers Conference foes.
Defensively, however, the Beavers were among the toughest in the A-R-C last season. The team ranked second during league play in blocks per set (1.73) and were fifth in digs per set (17.27). Vaughn added to her force at the net on the defensive side with a team-leading 33 total blocks in all matches with Meints just behind at 30. Sophomore Merced Ramirez is the top returner in terms of digs, ranking 11th in the conference, after wracking up 3.06 per set during her rookie campaign and 272 overall. She also finished second on the team with 28 ace serves.
