The Muhlenberg volleyball team’s season is starting to ramp up with the Mules sitting at (13-10) overall and a (5-4) Centennial Conference record. Volleyball’s latest feat is an impressive (3-1) win over Haverford College on Oct. 12. Looking forward into the season, there is ever growing optimism that this team can get over the hump. Led by Head Coach Rob McVickor, nicknamed “MVB,” the team is looking to make some headlines. The win over Haverford on Oct. 12 raised the Mules’ confidence level and cemented them as an inter-conference threat. Caleya Tereska ‘23 stated, “The Muhlenberg volleyball team this season, in my opinion, is the strongest in terms of our chemistry and athletic ability. We have such a strong-willed, focused and driven group of ladies who truly care for one another on and off the court.” When asked about the Haverford win, she adds, “Conference games have illustrated tougher competition where our team is forced to play to the best of our abilities. I am proud of the way that we started our season off strong and continue to improve in practice and compete against teams of a high caliber.”
The Mules stat sheets are filled with success from Emma Eglinton ‘23, Julia Ficon ‘24 and Esmae Oehler ‘25. Eglinton has a whopping 622 assists on the season and sits at second overall in the conference with 8.32 assists per set. Oehler leads the team in kills with a total of 224, which sits at third in the conference. Other notable stats from the team come from Christy Marcin ‘26 with 3.46 kills per set, which ranks third in the conference and Alyssa Faville ‘24 conference leading 399 digs.
Placed at seventh in the conference through seven conference matches, the Mules sit only one game behind Haverford for that coveted sixth seed in the conference. In this case, the top six seeds qualify for the playoffs. With the playoffs the obvious intention, the Mules will be playing hard against some tough competition near the end of their regular season.
“I know that beating Haverford was a big win, as they were ranked #2 in the conference. I am optimistic based on what I’ve seen the team is capable of,” defensive specialist Camila Leyes ‘26 says. The ultimate goal of MVB is to compete at a high level. They believe that they can only go up from here. Looking forward, the Mules have conference matches against the Bryn Mawr College Owls, the Washington College Shorewomen, and the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats. If the Mules can win out there is a great opportunity to clinch a playoff appearance. The Mules will try to lock in and move on.
Earlier in the season, the Mules had multiple players out with injuries. During this time, the Mules still played well based upon their record. Now, almost all of these players are healed and raring to get into game action. When prompted with how the injuries have affected the team, Tina Dalton ‘24 said, “One of our key hitters [Marcin] is coming back from an ankle injury so we’re looking to come strong for the rest of the season.” Dalton, having also had to recover from an ankle injury of her own added, “With the potential we have this season, we’re looking into making the playoffs.”
Eglinton leads the charge for the Mule squad. She is a vocal leader, always brings the energy and always picks up her teammates. When she isn’t cracking jokes on the court, she is more serious than anyone when it comes to game time. She explained, “Our best wins come when we are playing with confidence and having fun. It will be important to sustain energy and poise in the remaining games of our season. Our conference is made up of very competitive teams, and since we are all strong, each game is up for grabs. Looking ahead, I’d love to be able to finish up the regular season winning the rest of our Centennial Conference match-ups. It would be great to finish in the top half of the Conference.”
Since the match against Haverford, Muhlenberg volleyball has squared off against four opponents and brought their overall record to (13-10). Following their disappointing double header loss on Oct. 15 to both Johns Hopkins University (0-3) and Eastern University (0-3), the Mules bounced back in their next two matches beating Bryn Mawr College (3-0) on Oct. 19 and Washington College (3-0) on Oct. 22. At the time of publication, Thursday Oct. 27, Muhlenberg volleyball will have played against Franklin and Marshall College on Oct. 26. The Mules final match of the regular season will be on Oct. 29 against Arcadia University.
