Fisk, Dillard claim top seeds for 2025 HBCUAC Volleyball Championship
NEW ORLEANS - November 7, 2025 - Fisk University and the defending postseason champion Dillard University dominated their divisions to claim the top seeds for the 2025 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Volleyball Championship hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission and Bossier Parish Community College from November 10-12.
This season conference play was only within the division. The top four seeds from each division qualified for the championship. Fisk (27-6, 10-0 HBCUAC) rolled through the East Division with a perfect 10-0 record. It only lost two sets during HBCUAC play. Shelby Chamblin leads Fisk's attack with 295 kills. She took home 12 HBCUAC Weekly Awards. Kaia Barnett quarterbacked Fisk's attack with 5.98 assists per set in her freshman season. She is a five-time weekly award winner. Nialah Gupton leads the back row with a conference-high 450 digs. She earned Defensive Player of the Week four times. Delaney Farver ranks fourth in the conference with 0.95 blocks.
The Lady Bulldogs open the 2025 HBCUAC Volleyball Championship with a quarterfinal match against West No. 4 seed Paul Quinn College at Noon on Monday. The Lady Tigers are in their first year in the conference. Carrie Weston ranks third in the conference with 280 kills and 3.11 per set. Makaila Piggee leads the conference with a .314 hitting percentage. Ashley Sanchez ranks third in the conference with 3.79 digs, and fourth with 4.08 digs per set.
The winner of that match will face the winner between West No. 2 seed Huston-Tillotson University (14-11, 10-2 HBCUAC) and East No. 3 seed Oakwood University (12-9, 7-3). The Rams have made their mark in their inaugural season, winning 10 of 12 conference matches. Taylor Fisher ranks fifth in the conference with 324 digs. Freshman Lindsey Morris leads the team with 204 kills and 2.76 kills per set. Oakwood is having their best season since joining the conference in 2022. Kamaria Murray ranks fourth in the conference with 3.03 kills per set and second with 0.60 service aces per set.
The Lady Bleu Devils (15-8, 11-1 HBCUAC) continued where they left off and dominated the HBCUAC West. Their only blemish was a five-set loss at Huston-Tillotson. They only lost six sets during HBCUAC play. Gabrielle Washington leads the HBCUAC with 1.22 blocks per set. Cadence Thomas earned Attacker of the Week and ranks fifth in the conference with a .270 hitting percentage. She averages 2.45 kills per set. Nanyelis Moreno-Sosa has won multiple HBCUAC Setter of the Week awards. She leads the conference with 6.92 assists per set.
Dillard will face the East No. 4 Seed Stillman College. The Tigers finished the season by winning their last three conference matches. Ava Cameron ranks second in the conference with a .304 hitting percentage. She averages 2.43 kills per set. Karen White was selected as HBCUAC Freshman of the Week last week.
The winner will take on the winner between East No. 2 Talladega College and West No. 3 Philander Smith University. The Tornadoes, who are the two-time defending regular season champion, return a fraction of those teams. They finished strong winning six of their last seven conference matches. Kortni Johnson, Taquoia Rounds and Briyith Echeverri look to make one final run. Philander Smith ended the season winning their last five conference matches, including at home against Huston-Tillotson University. Ja'Niya Sanders ranks third in the conference with 3.10 kills per set. Antonisha Whitney ranks second in the conference with one block per set. Christlove Lature leads the conference with 4.89 digs per set.
Fans can catch the action of the 2025 HBCUAC Volleyball Championship on the Urban Edge Network, which can be viewed online or downloaded via the mobile app.
About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.