PAINESVILLE, OHIO -- Point Park volleyball will begin the 2026 season on Friday with matches against Slippery Rock and Seton Hill in Lake Erie's Storm Volleyball Classic. The Pioneers will take on SRU at 2 p.m. and Seton Hill at 4 p.m. on Friday before meeting Lake Erie on Saturday at 3 p.m.

POINT PARK VS SLIPPERY ROCK - Friday, 2 p.m.

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POINT PARK VS SETON HILL - Friday, 4 p.m.

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POINT PARK VS LAKE ERIE - Saturday, 3 p.m.

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Point Park, which begins a new era under Head Coach Nicole Bajuszik, looks to improve on a 4-23 (2-12 MEC) 2025 season. The Pioneers will return 12 players from last season's roster and feature six newcomers.

Three of Point Park's top-five leaders in kills from the 2025 season are on the squad in 2026, including Nicole Reasbeck who led the team with 287, good for sixth in the Mountain East Conference. Reasbeck finished second on the team in assists with 59 and third in aces, digs and blocks with 30, 215 and 41.0 respectively.

Reasbeck is one of five returners who played in every set for the Pioneers in 2025, another one of whom is Marianna Oyola-Rivera, whose 743 assists and 39 service aces both led the team and ranked third in the MEC. Oyola-Rivera also led the team in digs with 248. 

Patricia Calero-Irizarry and Savannah Kitchen, Point Park's 2025 block leaders with 65.0 and 61.0, are both back for the 2026 campaign. Mia Arndt returns for her senior season after posting a .927 reception percentage in 2025, good for fourth on the squad. Calero-Irizarry, Kitchen and Arndt all played in every set for PPU last year.

The Pioneers were picked fifth in the MEC Volleyball Preseason Poll.

"I'm ready to show the MEC that we're something entirely different than they've seen before," Bajuszik said, citing the cohesion and hunger the team has shown over the offseason. "The returning group wanted something, and they were hungry to change a pattern. We brought in that concept of staying together as one, and they're working on what that culture means to them." 

Bajuszik has emphasized the importance of what she calls "building the fence." 

"When you're thinking about your family, fences protect them. Each fence post represents something, we are strong together. Our fence posts are based on our culture, our physicality of playing volleyball and also our mindset."

"We also talk a lot about weathering a storm together," she added. "Nobody is bigger than what we have here. We're building a foundation for the future of this program." 

As a part of building the new culture, Bajuszik has focused her time at Point Park on emphasizing the importance of the small things as it comes to achieving bigger goals.

"Everyone wants to win a championship," she said, "everybody wants to win all the time, but we also have small goals like making sure that we're 1% better than the day before.

"These [players] have created something special in this preseason with their mindset, want and drive. Success is a lot of tiny little things over time that create something large," she noted. 

Point Park will return to the Student Center Gym on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in a matchup with Geneva at 7 p.m. The Pioneers open MEC play on Sept. 18 against Glenville State at the Student Center Gym.