Goggin Set To Continue Volleyball Career At McNeese State

Former Fort Defiance volleyball standout Leilani Goggin parlayed a standout two-year career at Richard Bland College into a Division I opportunity.

This fall, Goggin will continue her athletic and academic career at McNeese State University, a Division I program playing in the Southland Conference. McNeese State is in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The offer from McNeese came late in the game.

“Things happened late,” said Goggin. “It was near the end of beach season. I talked with the coach and made a visit earlier this summer. I pretty much went with the flow during the recruiting process. I decided if I didn’t find a school I liked, I probably wouldn’t be playing in college. Plus, money was a big part of the process. I didn’t want to be in debt for a long time.”

Goggin found what she was looking for in Louisiana.

“From the time I visited I loved everything about it,” she said. “The community is great. The weather is great. It was what I was looking for.”

Goggin was a key component in Richard Bland’s success the past two years during both the indoor season and the outdoor beach season.

The former Fort standout made an immediate impact with the Statesman. In her first indoor campaign, the team posted a 34-3 overall record. RBC defeated Cape Fear to win the Region 10 tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA National tournament where the team went on to win the national championship.

Goggin was a second-team All-Region 10 pick and was named to the NJCAA all-tournament team at the national championship tourney.

This past indoor season, the team made another trip to the national tournament and finished with a 33-8 record. Goggin was named to the all-region first team.

Goggin also excelled for the beach volleyball program. During her first season, the team placed fifth in the inaugural NJCAA Beach Volleyball National Championship. 

Her sophomore season brought another trip to nationals and the Statesmen finished as national runner-up. Goggin and her partner Alexis Scipione were named to the All-American doubles first team.

This season, Goggin will be playing only during the indoor season. “For now, I’m going to focus on indoors. Maybe I’ll play beach when I’m a senior.”

The past two seasons the Cowgirls have hovered around the .500 mark. A year ago, the team finished 16-17 and in 2022 the team was 18-16.

“I’m really excited to be part of the program We’re all focused on winning. We want to win now,” Goggin said.

The Cowgirls will play in two Blue-Gold scrimmages in the coming weeks while also hosting LSU on Aug. 17 for an exhibition match.

McNeese opens its regular season on Aug. 31 when it plays Texas A&M at the South Alabama Jaguar Invitational.