Phantoms Dig In for Women’s Volleyball
(Delaware and Chester Counties, PA)—Delaware County Community College Women's Volleyball is back for intercollegiate competition for the first time since 2016, serving up a roster replete with area talent, including eight Delco student-athletes.
DCCC set the table for a return in 2024, running the program as a club sport coached by Josh Elliott. This season, led by new Head Coach Brian Sylvestri and Assistant Coach Brooke Hall, the Phantoms play a 12-game NJCAA Region 19 Division-III schedule.
Sylvestri is excited about the sport's rise and growing popularity at all stages, especially at the collegiate and professional levels, and for the opportunity to continue to build women's volleyball at DCCC. "It's a fast-paced game that's really fun to watch and more people are realizing that," he says. "It's a really fun time for this sport."
Bringing with him experience and connections as a head coach (17U national team) and a skills director for the Equinox Volleyball Club as well as a Springfield High School assistant varsity coach, Sylvestri assembled a team that is particularly Delco strong. The current active roster includes four Sun Valley graduates—Chloe Crego, Annalyn Graybeal, Gianna Jones, and Madicyn Parker—along with Isabella Nevrotski and Tiffani Tran from Upper Darby, Penn Wood's Ikessah Zarwee, and Springfield's Rilynn Jones. Great Valley graduate Sophia Siaton reps Chester County while Sanaa Riley hails from Philadelphia's Kensington.
Rilynn Jones, Siaton, and Zarwee return to the team from 2024's club squad, with all others first-year players. Zarwee and Nevrotski have been named captains for 2025.
Sylvestri appreciates that DCCC offers its students a pathway for NJCAA sports participation and that he can facilitate intercollegiate play for women's volleyball athletes pursuing a degree or certificate program at a junior college. He describes his coaching style as trying to create competitive athletes who love and enjoy the sport as much as he does. "I like to take my love for the sport and translate that into my coaching and really try to build strong athletes, not just on the court, but in the classroom and in life," he says.
The team has been determined and diligent from the start. "I'm seeing a lot of hard work in the gym to improve every time we step on the court and a lot of strong team dynamic building," Sylvestri says. "We're learning about each other and how to play volleyball with each other. Our mentality this season is to keep going up every practice and game."
His praise emphasizes that there's no "I" in team or in coach. "Credit to my captains Ikessah and Bella for building the team bond and executing the vision," says Sylvestri. "And I need to shout out my assistant coach Brooke—we're on the same page about our vision for this team, and it's important to have her help and input."
The Phantoms have opened the season 0-3, taking losses in quality matches to Bergen Community College, Atlantic Cape Community College, and Brookdale Community College. "We had a good starting point and know what we need to work on and what are strengths and weaknesses are," Sylvestri says. "We all have the same mindset and goal to be competitive and to win in the NJCAA and Region 19."
DCCC travels to Middlesex College on Saturday, September 20, for a tri-match with Middlesex and Passaic County Community College. They face Community College of Philadelphia on Wednesday, September 24. The Phantoms are playing the remainder of the season on the road after hosting two of its first three games at Penn State Brandywine's athletic facility in Media, PA. Go, Phantoms!