VESTAL, N.Y. – New Jersey All-State selection Ava Gaspard is joining the Binghamton volleyball team at the start of the 2026 season, Head Coach
Allie Yaeger announced Wednesday.
"We are excited to announce the addition of Ava to our Bearcat family," said Yaeger. "She will bring great depth and experience to the right side of our court. Ava's competitiveness and work ethic will fit in perfectly with an already determined and tough group we have. We look forward to her growth and success on our court."
Gaspard, a right side hitter from Westfield, N.J., is set to arrive in the Southern Tier this fall after becoming one of the most accomplished volleyball players in program history at Westfield High School. She is Westfield's all-time leader in kills with 711 over the course of three seasons. In 2025, she set the program record for kills in a season with 338 while also recording 223 digs, 49 aces, 31 blocks and 12 assists. Gaspard went on receive NJ.com All-State First Team honors while also being named Union County Conference Player of the Year. In her final season at Westfield, she helped the Blue Devils win their fourth-straight section title and make their second state finals appearance in four years.
Gaspard is the third commitment the Bearcats have announced for the 2026 season.
Binghamton previously announced the additions of Sophia Christoffers and Sydney Geselbracht back in December.
The trio join a Binghamton program that appeared in the America East Volleyball Championship for the fourth season in a row in 2025. It is the first time that the Bearcats reached their conference tournament in four consecutive seasons since 2014-17. Both
Viktoria Dimitrova and
Merima Smajlovic received First Team All-Conference honors from the America East. Since Binghamton had three players earn First Team All-Conference honors in 2024 (Misa Dlouha, Tsvetelina Ilieva and Lottie Scully), it was the first time the Bearcats had multiple players make the First Team in back-to-back seasons since 2005 (2) and 2006 (3).
Hinman, Howard & Katell, LLP is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats Volleyball.
