Eastern University Athletics

As the first volleyball player inducted into Eastern’s Hall of Honor, Lisa Sondej was recognized as a cornerstone of Eastern’s volleyball legacy.

It was fitting that later in the evening, the University honored a pair of current volleyball All Americans from Eastern’s Sweet 16 squad.

Current Eastern Volleyball Coach Mark Birtwistle introduced his former standout by relating that Sondej was critical in establishing the core values of the program that has won twelve conference championships in the last 13 years. Sondej, who grew up in Bensalem, Pa., earned Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors in her senior season, and she held career marks in 12 statistical categories when she graduated, and her name still figures prominently in the Eastern record books.

Eastern Volleyball has won a Conference Player of the Year honor in each of the years since she graduated in 1998. (That streak came to an end in the 2013 season, when Eastern had four players earn All-American recognition, but missed out on Conference Player of the Year because of that great balance of talent.)

Sondej thanked Birtwistle for giving her the opportunity to play college volleyball and for helping her to develop her love for the game. She also thanked her mother and grandmother for their support as she played at Eastern and beyond. Her final thanks went to her father, who passed away this past fall after a battle with cancer. She related how she missed his presence at games and how much it would have meant to have had him see her inducted.