Tight races for the new divisions should make for an exciting season of girls’ volleyball in the Lackawanna League.

Abington Heights, last year’s undefeated league champion, is the favorite in Division I. The Lady Comets are expected to win. Blue Ridge and North Pocono are expected to challenge the Lady Comets.

Valley View gained the preseason nod in Division II. West Scranton and Lakeland are considered the top contenders to threaten the Cougars.

The league’s division structure placed the eight teams with the best 2025 records in Division I. They will play home-and-home matches, which should create an intense title chase.

Division I

Abington Heights returns seven starters from its championship team. Alaina Krempasky led the team with 204 kills last season. Hilde Temblador was second on the team with 171 kills.

Brielle Wentz was a second-team Lackawanna League Coaches’ all-star and had 429 assists and 134 digs.

“We’ve worked a lot on keeping an offensive tempo,” Wentz said. “There are a lot of incoming freshmen because we lost so many seniors. It is definitely a different vibe in the gym. It is still very competitive, and we are all working really well together to keep a good flow between our defense and our serve receive and offense, and it is all meshing well together.”

Blue Ridge returns All-Region middle blocker Abigail Gelinger. She had 257 kills last season and has 521 career kills.

Mckenna Zick ran the offense last season with 566 assists. She has 1,051 career assists and is a returning second-team all-star. Lynndee Barbour had 151 kills and Payton Perrington had 255 digs last season for the Lady Raiders, who will be one of the top teams in District 2 Class 2A with the PIAA now at six classifications.

“I am really excited,” Gelinger said. “I think we are all working really hard to hopefully get another date back on our banner.”

North Pocono returns four starters from a team that finished 13-2 last season. Avarie Roscioli, an honorable mention all-star, Ryan Masters, Julia Black, and Mira Belle Zangardi give the Lady Trojans depth and experience.

Montrose also returns a veteran lineup. The Lady Meteors won 10 matches last season and will be led by All-Region middle blocker/middle hitter Sadie Jones. She had 136 kills, 59 service points, 45 blocks, and 181 digs.

Molly Weller is a returning honorable mention all-star for Montrose.

Dunmore returns Elena Piepoli, Katelyn Henry, Lizzie Mendola, and Michelle Nidoh for first-year coach Molly McCafferty.

Piepoli had 259 digs last season and has 479 career digs. Nidoh contributed 117 kills, Henry had 336 assists, and Mendola had 70 serving points and 42 assists for the Lady Bucks.

“As the season starts, we have a lot of new players upcoming, so we are working on a lot of rebuilding,” Piepoli said. “It is coming together quite nicely, but we still have a lot of work because they are all brand new. We only have so many returning players, but I think we will be pretty decent this year.”

Mountain View won the District 2 Class 1A championships. The Lady Eagles will need to replace Addison Kilmer, last season’s Times-Tribune Female Athlete of the Year and an All-Region player in volleyball.

The Lady Eagles return six starters, including Karley Norton, who had 177 kills, 106 digs, and 106 serving points.

Aubrey Sanders had 158 serving points, 67 kills, 63 digs, and 492 assists; Addison Tompkins had 96 serving points, 76 digs, and 71 kills; Abbie Mitchell had 37 kills and 103 digs during Mountain View’s title run.

“It was really exciting, especially to see how all of our hard work paid off last year,” Tompkins said. “This year, we have a new team. We have to really work together to have the confidence to keep working hard to achieve that again.”

Olivia Haines, who had 141 kills, 143 serving points, and 50 digs, leads Western Wayne. Adysen Wargo added 96 digs, and Abbie Washine had 440 assists for the Lady ‘Cats.

Scranton returns starters Krystianna Nallo-Aniska, Maddy Slocum, and Mariangelys Torres Leon. Last season, Slocum had 45 kills, Nallo-Aniska had 152 digs, and Torres-Leon ran the offense with 168 assists.

Division II

Valley View has built a strong program in a short time.

Layla Marino is a returning All-Region and Lackawanna League all-star outside hitter. She had 119 kills and 163 digs. She has been one of the driving forces for the Cougars and has 161 kills, 355 digs, 161 aces, and 61 assists in her career.

“We have been putting in the work,” Marino said. “The vibes in the gym are way different than last year. We do workouts and practice for two hours with these girls, and you can really see they are hungry to win. We are in a different division this year, and I think we are underestimated this year, and I want to prove to people that we can do it and we can win.”

In addition to Marino, the Cougars return starters Alyssa Peralta, Emma Pienkowski, Clare Murphy, and Monica Orellana.

Peralta had 155 kills, Orellana had 227 digs, and Murphy (47) and Pienkowski (12) combined for 59 blocks.

West Scranton returns Sophia DeLuca, Hannah Miller, Sydney Williams, and Aubrey Kerrigan. Adeline Biondo, Eliana Rogari, and Riley Ganz lead Lakeland.

“We lost 11 players from last season, so we are a rebuilding team,” Rogari said. “We have a lot of chemistry within the players. We have lots of individual talent, and I really think we are excited for the season and we are going to play great.”

Mid Valley looks to make a move into contention with Krista Demboski, Aubrey Comstock, Kate Coviello, Olivia Parry, and Arianna Vitaletti returning.

Susquehanna has Lauren Huyck, who had 85 kills and 341 assists, Piper Heller, and Jordyn Spoor returning.

Lackawanna Trail has four starters back, including Ava Drake, Tiah Stroble, Elizabeth Harvey, and Aubrie Pinney, who had 21 kills last season.

Elk Lake returns starters Aleece Greenley and Mia Blair.

Forest City has an experienced lineup with Amethyst Kealohasilva, Rayn Conrad, Alyzza Evans, Ella White, Tarwin Tietz, Maria Serge, Amelia Bennett, Aalyhia Evanusa, Madison Harris, and Diamond Rice all back.

WVC

Delaware Valley is expected to challenge for a conference title.

The Lady Warriors, who were last season’s District 2 Class 3A champion, return Makayley Hughes at setter. She had 452 assists last season, added 103 serving points with 38 aces and 90 digs, and was named to the All-Region team. Hughes holds the school record with 1,205 career assists.

Delaware Valley also returns starters Cecelia Dickerson and Paris Machado.