Fifth-Set Ready: Eagles Primed for 2026 Campaign
4/27/2026 2:00:00 PM | Volleyball
STATESBORO – Georgia Southern volleyball produced its third consecutive 19-plus win season in 2025, but remained hungry for more after falling in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
"We are disappointed in the way we ended the season," head coach Chad Willis said. "But that doesn't take away from the collective as a whole. At this level it is very difficult to win and to do that 19 times over the course of four months is difficult in itself."
The 19 wins in 2025 also secured the fifth consecutive 16-plus win season for the Eagles under head coach Chad Willis, moving his career tally in Statesboro to 109-81 and enters the 2026 campaign with a chance to become the program's all-time winningest coach.
Throughout the 2025 season, the Eagles competed in seven five-set matches, with five coming in league play – posting a record of 1-4 in those Sun Belt matches. Georgia Southern felt they let a few of those matches slip away from producing a 14-2 record in league.
"Those familiar with our game know that once you get to a fifth set anything can happen," Willis said. "We felt like a couple of those got away from us. When you look at it you are four fifth-set wins away from finishing 14-2 in the league. That is how thin the margins are at our level. It is something we have talked a lot about coming out of the fall with our returners is being more "fifth-set ready". We are building toward being prepared for those fifth-set moments, but also building toward finishing the job earlier in the match when the opportunity arises."
On the individual side, rising senior Reagan Barth produced a historic performance on the court, earning her third consecutive First Team All-Sun Belt honors, while adding the programs first AVCA First Team All-Region selection. The two-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week, moved into fifth all-time in Georgia Southern history, producing 1,159 kills, cementing herself into the Eagles record book once again. The Lenexa, Kansas, native finished the season ninth in NCAA Division I volleyball in attacks per set (12.25), 34th in kills per set (4.33), and 31st in points per set (4.86). She produced 23 matches registering double digit kills last season, including a near program record 37 against Louisiana, one shy of the school record and honored as one of the top single-game performances in Division I and the Sun Belt.
Kirsten Barrett capped off an illustrious career at Georgia Southern, ranking sixth in program history in assists (2,845), fourth in assists per set (8.47), was named First Team All-Sun Belt, and collected 10 Sun Belt Setter of the Week awards over the past two seasons. Barrett finished second in voting for Sun Belt Setter of the Year honors after leading the league in total assists (1,029) and assists per set (10.09). She tallied the 41st most assists per set at the national level, while registering a career-high 292 digs (2.86 digs per set) and 24 blocks. She paced the Eagles with 36 service aces and registered 15 double-doubles of assists and digs.
A Second Team All-Sun Belt recipient last season, Alex Myers collected her first Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors playing in 28 matches and seeing action in 98 sets for the Eagles as a freshman. She hit a team-leading .352 with 188 kills and 79 blocks, ranking third in Sun Belt Conference in hitting percentage, while leading the league in hitting percentage in league-only matches at .378.
Maddie Cugino wrapped up the Eagles highlighted by the Sun Belt Conference in 2025, producing a Third Team All-Sun Belt recipient as a Libero. Cugino played in all 28 matches, appearing in 101 sets in her first season with the Eagles. She led the team defensively with 485 digs (4.80 digs per set) and ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference and 22nd nationally in digs per set. She posted 25 matches of double-digit digs, 20-plus digs in nine matches and had 25 digs in back-to-back matches to open the season at North Florida. Additionally, Cugino added Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors in week one, her first at Georgia Southern.
"We had a couple of really nice individual performances this season." Willis said. "Starting with Reagan, she earned her third consecutive First Team honors by the league and also was honored with First Team All-Region, which is huge for the program. Kirsten Barrett was also honored on the first team and we thought she deserved to be Setter of the Year in the Sun Belt. In our eyes she really was the cream of the crop in the setter group. For Alex Myers, as a freshman coming in, it was nice to see what she could do. That ended up with Second Team honors and Maddie Cugino secured Third Team as our Libero. I thought up and down our roster we put up good numbers this season and it was really good to see. We were disappointed that we didn't get a postseason opportunity with the NIVC pausing what they are doing, as we thought we would be a lock for that for the third consecutive season. The goal still stays the same. We want to be a NCAA Tournament team. That was the goal going into last year and we didn't accomplish that, but that carries over and we are ready to set our sights on 2026."
Following a strong 2025 campaign, the Eagles wanted to address areas of improvement as a staff, focused on being a better serving team to generate more point scoring opportunities. Specifically, the Eagles wanted to be after to go after it a little more, producing more high-risk high-reward situations.
Through the portal, Georgia Southern was able to add two key mid-year transfers in Grace Thomas from Central Michigan and Beka Pfefferkorn from Florida International.
"From a right-side production standpoint we felt like that was an area that we wanted to get better." Willis stated. "Our additions were all in the mindset to reach the 14 kill per set mark going into the Fall we were right at third or fourth in the league in that area, around 13.2. We were able to go into the portal and get some size and physicality at the net in Grace and Beka, while returning almost all of our offensive production in the lineup."
Georgia Southern volleyball returns a core piece of offensive production as Reagan Barth, Sam Bowron, Lydia Seymour, Alex Myers, Maddie Cugino, and Mayte Camacho help manage and run the offense. Lexi Duffy continues to develop and has been in the system, allowing the Eagles versatility across the board. Freshman Bella Ekeler and Delaney Wingenbach enrolled early for the Eagles, joining the team an immediately making an impact during the spring season. All 18 members of the Eagles 2026 roster were able to compete together this spring, allowing Georgia Southern to create a unique culture heading into the fall slate.
"We were very fortunate that our lone incoming freshman this season enrolled early. We have our entire fall roster here in the gym together and it is unique because it doesn't happen often in our sport. It is something that we talked a lot about with our group, having all 18 ladies in the gym in the fall allows us to continue to develop on the court, but also build strong relationships and culture off the court. We continue to develop a mental edge with the 2026 squad, while preparing for the grind of the 2026 fall slate."
Georgia Southern volleyball begins the 2026 season on August 28, with the full schedule released in the near future.
"We are disappointed in the way we ended the season," head coach Chad Willis said. "But that doesn't take away from the collective as a whole. At this level it is very difficult to win and to do that 19 times over the course of four months is difficult in itself."
The 19 wins in 2025 also secured the fifth consecutive 16-plus win season for the Eagles under head coach Chad Willis, moving his career tally in Statesboro to 109-81 and enters the 2026 campaign with a chance to become the program's all-time winningest coach.
Throughout the 2025 season, the Eagles competed in seven five-set matches, with five coming in league play – posting a record of 1-4 in those Sun Belt matches. Georgia Southern felt they let a few of those matches slip away from producing a 14-2 record in league.
"Those familiar with our game know that once you get to a fifth set anything can happen," Willis said. "We felt like a couple of those got away from us. When you look at it you are four fifth-set wins away from finishing 14-2 in the league. That is how thin the margins are at our level. It is something we have talked a lot about coming out of the fall with our returners is being more "fifth-set ready". We are building toward being prepared for those fifth-set moments, but also building toward finishing the job earlier in the match when the opportunity arises."
On the individual side, rising senior Reagan Barth produced a historic performance on the court, earning her third consecutive First Team All-Sun Belt honors, while adding the programs first AVCA First Team All-Region selection. The two-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week, moved into fifth all-time in Georgia Southern history, producing 1,159 kills, cementing herself into the Eagles record book once again. The Lenexa, Kansas, native finished the season ninth in NCAA Division I volleyball in attacks per set (12.25), 34th in kills per set (4.33), and 31st in points per set (4.86). She produced 23 matches registering double digit kills last season, including a near program record 37 against Louisiana, one shy of the school record and honored as one of the top single-game performances in Division I and the Sun Belt.
Kirsten Barrett capped off an illustrious career at Georgia Southern, ranking sixth in program history in assists (2,845), fourth in assists per set (8.47), was named First Team All-Sun Belt, and collected 10 Sun Belt Setter of the Week awards over the past two seasons. Barrett finished second in voting for Sun Belt Setter of the Year honors after leading the league in total assists (1,029) and assists per set (10.09). She tallied the 41st most assists per set at the national level, while registering a career-high 292 digs (2.86 digs per set) and 24 blocks. She paced the Eagles with 36 service aces and registered 15 double-doubles of assists and digs.
A Second Team All-Sun Belt recipient last season, Alex Myers collected her first Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors playing in 28 matches and seeing action in 98 sets for the Eagles as a freshman. She hit a team-leading .352 with 188 kills and 79 blocks, ranking third in Sun Belt Conference in hitting percentage, while leading the league in hitting percentage in league-only matches at .378.
Maddie Cugino wrapped up the Eagles highlighted by the Sun Belt Conference in 2025, producing a Third Team All-Sun Belt recipient as a Libero. Cugino played in all 28 matches, appearing in 101 sets in her first season with the Eagles. She led the team defensively with 485 digs (4.80 digs per set) and ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference and 22nd nationally in digs per set. She posted 25 matches of double-digit digs, 20-plus digs in nine matches and had 25 digs in back-to-back matches to open the season at North Florida. Additionally, Cugino added Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors in week one, her first at Georgia Southern.
"We had a couple of really nice individual performances this season." Willis said. "Starting with Reagan, she earned her third consecutive First Team honors by the league and also was honored with First Team All-Region, which is huge for the program. Kirsten Barrett was also honored on the first team and we thought she deserved to be Setter of the Year in the Sun Belt. In our eyes she really was the cream of the crop in the setter group. For Alex Myers, as a freshman coming in, it was nice to see what she could do. That ended up with Second Team honors and Maddie Cugino secured Third Team as our Libero. I thought up and down our roster we put up good numbers this season and it was really good to see. We were disappointed that we didn't get a postseason opportunity with the NIVC pausing what they are doing, as we thought we would be a lock for that for the third consecutive season. The goal still stays the same. We want to be a NCAA Tournament team. That was the goal going into last year and we didn't accomplish that, but that carries over and we are ready to set our sights on 2026."
Following a strong 2025 campaign, the Eagles wanted to address areas of improvement as a staff, focused on being a better serving team to generate more point scoring opportunities. Specifically, the Eagles wanted to be after to go after it a little more, producing more high-risk high-reward situations.
Through the portal, Georgia Southern was able to add two key mid-year transfers in Grace Thomas from Central Michigan and Beka Pfefferkorn from Florida International.
"From a right-side production standpoint we felt like that was an area that we wanted to get better." Willis stated. "Our additions were all in the mindset to reach the 14 kill per set mark going into the Fall we were right at third or fourth in the league in that area, around 13.2. We were able to go into the portal and get some size and physicality at the net in Grace and Beka, while returning almost all of our offensive production in the lineup."
Georgia Southern volleyball returns a core piece of offensive production as Reagan Barth, Sam Bowron, Lydia Seymour, Alex Myers, Maddie Cugino, and Mayte Camacho help manage and run the offense. Lexi Duffy continues to develop and has been in the system, allowing the Eagles versatility across the board. Freshman Bella Ekeler and Delaney Wingenbach enrolled early for the Eagles, joining the team an immediately making an impact during the spring season. All 18 members of the Eagles 2026 roster were able to compete together this spring, allowing Georgia Southern to create a unique culture heading into the fall slate.
"We were very fortunate that our lone incoming freshman this season enrolled early. We have our entire fall roster here in the gym together and it is unique because it doesn't happen often in our sport. It is something that we talked a lot about with our group, having all 18 ladies in the gym in the fall allows us to continue to develop on the court, but also build strong relationships and culture off the court. We continue to develop a mental edge with the 2026 squad, while preparing for the grind of the 2026 fall slate."
Georgia Southern volleyball begins the 2026 season on August 28, with the full schedule released in the near future.
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