IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata women's volleyball had an impressive year in their first season under head coach Mary Kirchner.

The Mighty Macs saw dramatic improvements from 2024 to 2025. Last year, Immaculata went 3-14 (1-5 AEC). But they improved to 11-17 (4-3 AEC) in 2025, an eight-win increase, and they boasted a record over .500 in conference play.

COACH'S CORNER

"We knew going into the season that we had a challenge ahead of us in merging our returning players and our first-years to raise the level of play throughout the season, but we had one singular goal for the season of 'We will be #1!'" Kirchner said. "We scheduled some highly-competitive matches early in the season to get us ready for conference play. Seniors Mia Esposito and Emma Hodgson, and first-years, Angelica Santini Bulerin, Damani Myers, and Adriana Ventura, peaked at the right time to lead us to the first-ever Semifinals in IU's history in the [Atlantic East Conference]. The potential of this team moving forward is immense, and I couldn't be prouder."

THE SCHEDULE

Despite a five-set defeat at Penn State Abington to start the season, the Mighty Macs won their home opener four days later, taking down Delaware Valley in five sets. Immaculata had a tough stretch of matches, both in dual matches and tri-matches. However, they would show improvement over the course of the season by stealing at least one set against opponents like Rowan, Rutgers-Camden, and Alvernia.

Mid-October was when the Mighty Macs began to turn early season losses into late season victories. From Oct. 10 to the end of the regular season, Kirchner led Immaculata to an 8-5 overall record.

Arguably one of the best wins of 2025 was Senior Night on Oct. 29. The Mighty Macs welcomed Atlantic East Conference (AEC) rival Centenary (N.J.) to Alumnae Hall. Immaculata won the first and third sets; Centenary won the second and fourth, forcing a fifth and final set. Out of the initial four sets, three of them ended at 25-20 (the other being 25-19). Behind a career night for Lauren Gartman, who served up five aces in the fifth set, Immaculata went on a 12-0 run to claim set five 15-3.

Another highlight of the season was at Neumann on Nov. 5. Even with a 2-0 match lead over the Knights, the Mighty Macs could not stop Neumann in sets three and four, which once again forced a fifth set. The Knights would lead 15-14 when Immaculata called timeout. The Mighty Macs scored three straight points, capped off with a Mia Esposito kill, and won 3-2.

Although the season ended in the AEC Semifinals at Marywood, the Mighty Macs were resilient throughout and have key players going into 2026.

BOX SCORE ANALYSIS

Immaculata's rotation was fairly consistent, as five players appeared in all 28 matches: Eliana Szatkowski, Calissa Araujo, Adriana Ventura, Esposito, and Gartman.

Team Leaders
Kills: Mia Esposito (283)
Assists: Angelica Santini Bulerin (626)
Service aces: Angelica Santini Bulerin (44)
Digs: Adriana Ventura (387)
Solo blocks: Antonia Antolini (13)
Assisted blocks: Antonia Antolini (37)
Total blocks: Antonia Antolini (50)

NEW ENTRIES FOR THE RECORD BOOK – SINGLE SEASON

• Esposito's 283 kills rank second for the most single-season kills in Immaculata women's volleyball history, behind Jaime Williams (307)
• Santini Bulerin finished her first season with 626 assists, which is second behind Shea Barlow (762)
• Ventura's 387 digs in her first season rank sixth, behind Molly Truitt (398)
• Antonia Antolini, with 37 assisted blocks, completed the season in a three-way tie for fifth with Allison Lang and Marissa Casella
• Esposito's 36 assisted blocks puts her alongside Lindsey Silvestro in a tie for eighth, just trailing the three-way tie that contains Antolini

AWARD WINNERS

All-Atlantic East First Team: Mia Esposito
College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District: Lauren Gartman, Eliana Szatkowski