News, notes, games results, award winners from the net in D I Volleyball
Arkansas State advance to the Great 8 in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship
Arkansas State (28-5) defeated UTRGV in the first round 3-1 to advance to the Super 16 of the NIVC. The Red Wolves used 13 blocks and limited their opponent to a .175 hitting percentage. The next matchup put Arkansas State against the host SFA for a spot in the Great 8. The Red Wolves improved to 7-1 in five set matches to give the Ladyjacks their second loss at home this season.
The pair of wins marked the first multi-win postseason for Arkansas State since a 2-2 run in the 1993 NIVC. In the win over SFA, the Red Wolves added 12 blocks with seven from Sun Belt Newcomer and Defensive Player of the Year Daedrianna Cail. Arkansas State will face Northern Colorado in Tucson, Ariz. Inside the McKale Center on the campus of Arizona. The match is scheduled for December 11 at 4 p.m. CT.
Georgia Southern also advanced to the Super 16 with a 3-0 win over SEMO in the first round (28-26, 25-13, 25-13). Reagan Barth finished with 13 kills as Jillian Gray added 11. Kirsten Barrett totaled five service aces with 36 assists in the win. The Eagles finished the season 22-7 after a 3-2 loss to Northern Colorado on Saturday night (18-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-14, 10-15). Barrett tallied 44 assists in the five-set loss and became the first Eagle with over 1,000 assists in a season since 2014. Gray added 15 more kills as Paige Powers finished with 17. It also marked the first loss for the Eagles within Hanner Fieldhouse this year.
App State (18-10) faced Northern Colorado in the First Round, as the Mountaineers fell 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 12-25, 22-25). Maya Winterhoff, Lulu Ambrose and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Elise Marchal finished in double figures with kills. Addison Heidemann tallied 39 assists and ten digs for her 11th double-double of the season as Kenady Roper tallied a team-high 17 digs.
At the NCAA Tournament, Texas State earned the league’s automatic bid and faced Missouri on the road at SMU. Despite close sets, the Bobcats finish the season 22-9 after a 3-0 loss (16-25, 22-25, 22-25). Sun Belt Setter of the Year Ryann Torres tallied 24 assists as both Jade Defraeye and Bailey Hanner tallied three blocks. Samantha Wunsch led the team with nine kills as Alyssa Ortega totaled 13 digs.
Five Sun Belt volleyball student-athletes earn All-Region Recognition from American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
App State junior Maya Winterhoff collected East Coast Region Honorable Mention recognition. Winterhoff is the third Mountaineer in program history to earn AVCA All-Region honors and the first Mountaineer to receive the honor since 2007. Starting all 28 matches this fall, Winterhoff tallied 319 kills with a hitting percentage of .372. She also totaled 108 blocks (18 solo, 90 assists), 56 digs and 24 aces. Winterhoff, who earned Preseason All-Sun Belt honors going into the season, collected First Team All-SBC accolades for her efforts on the court during the 2024 campaign. In the Sun Belt rankings, Winterhoff led the league in hitting percentage and rounded out the top 10 in blocks for the season as a whole. She is a two-time Preseason All-SBC selection, three-time all-conference honoree and was the Mountaineers' first Sun Belt Freshman of the Year selection in 2022.
Troy’s Tori Hester was named an All-South Region Honorable Mention honoree. Hester, a senior from Salisbury, N.C., was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Sun Belt after leading the conference in several offensive categories. She finished the season leading the Sun Belt in total kills (536), kills per set (5.10), total points (607.5) and points per set (5.79). On the national scene, her numbers ranked fourth in kills per set, fifth in points per set, 10th in total kills and 12th in total points. She became Troy's all-time leader in kills (1,767) and kills per set (4.05). Hester finished her collegiate career on a 48-match streak of double-digit kills, which is the longest known active streak in Division I women's volleyball. She added 11 double-doubles on the year. Hester is the first Trojan to be named to an AVCA All-Region team.
Coastal Carolina Jaylyn Stout was named to the Southeast All-Region Team for the second consecutive year. A sophomore, she recorded a team-leading 402 kills, 586 assists and 34 service aces. Stout notably posted double-digit kills in 21 matches, including a season-high 22 against Texas State on Nov. 8. A Gainesville, Fla., native, she also made her mark in the NCAA's history, breaking the record for most triple-doubles in a single season with 20. Stout recorded double-digit assists in 29 of her 30 appearances and concluded the season with a triple-double in eight of her last nine matches on her way to earning a spot on the 2024 All-Sun Belt first team. She was named to the First Team All-Region this season.
Georgia Southern’s outside hitter Reagan Barth earned an honorable mention on the AVCA Southeast All-Region team. The sophomore First Team All-Sun Belt member led the Eagles with a career-high 356 kills. Barth finished second on the Eagles in digs (290) and digs per set (2.96). Barth was tied for the team lead with 0.45 aces per set, leading the team in kills per set (3.63) and points per set (4.45). She became the first Eagle to record back-to-back seasons with 350+ kills since 2013 and 2014 and the first Eagle with at least 350 kills and 250 digs since 2014. The Lenexa, Kan. native had double-digit kills 21 times and a pair of 20-kill games, achieving 13 double-doubles and 14 games with 10 or more digs. Barth was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week in Week 6 after totaling 38 kills and hitting .427 (38-6-75) in the two matches at Marshall - 6.33 kills per set. She was also named AVCA/GameChanger Division I Player of the Week, the first Sun Belt Player to do so since 2017 and first in Georgia Southern history. She is the first Eagle to earn AVCA All-Region honors since Martina Veiglova in 2003.
Texas State outside hitter Samantha Wunsch was named AVCA First Team All-Region out of the Southwest Region this season. This is the first All-Region selection of her career for Wunsch. She is also the first Bobcat to earn the accolade since Emily DeWalt and Janell Fitzgerald were named All-Southwest Region in 2022. Texas State has 13 prior AVCA All-Region nominees in program history. Wunsch was a First Team All-Conference selection in the Sun Belt for the Bobcats this season and was named to the SBC All-Tournament team after the Bobcats Championship run. She was a two-time SBC Player of the Week as well. Wunsch's 3.74 kills per set were among the best in the Sun Belt as she averaged 4.20 points per set this year. She swung effectively at .301 this season and was heavily involved both offensively and defensively for the Bobcats. She was one of the team's best hitters while contributing heavily to the Bobcats 2.48 blocks per set, tallying 0.95 blocks per set in conference. Texas State finished its 2024 season with a 22-9 record after a Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship. The Bobcats made also a first-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
Fourteen student-athletes from each of the 10 AVCA regions earned All-Region Team honors with 6-8 honorable mention selections. In total, more than 211 student-athletes were honored, representing 108 different institutions.
From the All-Region selections, the All-American Teams will be determined and announced.
2024 AVCA Division I Volleyball All-Region Selections
East Coast Region
Honorable Mention | Maya Winterhoff, App State | Jr. | MB
South Region
Honorable Mention | Tori Hester, Troy | Sr. | OH
Southeast Region
First Team | Jalyn Stout, Coastal Carolina | So. | S
Honorable Mention | Reagan Barth, Georgia Southern | So. | OH
Southwest Region
First Team | Samantha Wunsch, Texas State | Jr. | OH
Big 12 End of Year Award Winners
TCU's Melanie Parra was named the league's Player of the Year, the Horned Frogs' first recipient of the award. Arizona State Mary Shroll earn the Conference's Libero of the Year while Arizona State's Argentina Ung was awarded Setter of the Year and JJ Van Niel was unanimously chosen as the Big 12 Coach of the Year in the Sun Devils' debut season. Kansas' Reese Ptacek became the second Jayhawk in KU's history to earn the Freshman of the Year honor joining this season's Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Caroline Bien.
Parra led the Big 12 in both points per set (5.91) and kills per set (5.06) while ranking third nationally in points per set and fifth nationally in kills per set. The senior from Sinaloa, Mexico became the first player in Division I women's volleyball history to be named the AVCA/GameChanger Division I Player of the Week in consecutive weeks.
Shroll ranked second in digs per set among Big 12 players (4.71) The graduate student receiving a master's in business analytics won three Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors during the season.
Ung finished the regular season third in the league for assists per set (10.32) lead the Sun Devils in hitting percentage (.281). The graduate student from Sonora, Mexico finished the season with a .281 hitting percentage.
Ptacek finished third among all Big 12 players with 1.27 blocks per set during the season. Ptacek had the highest hitting percentage in a single regular season league match this season, of .813 on Oct. 12 against Cincinnati.
Bien is Kansas' fourth Scholar-Athlete of the Year award winner and first since 2021. Bien post a 4.0 GPA as a accounting major. Bien averaged 3.22 digs per set and 2.54 kills per set during the season.
Van Niel guided Arizona State to a league title in the Sun Devils' inaugural Big 12 season with a 17-1 record in Conference play. The title was the first conference title in program history while ASU finished the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1973. Arizona State clinched a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and finished No. 8 in the final regular season AVCA/TARAFLEX DI Poll in Van Niel's second season at the helm.
Nineteen student-athletes were selected to the All-Big 12 First Team while 17 were named to the Second Team. Ten freshmen were chosen to the All-Big 12 Rookie Team. A full list of the honorees can be found below.
2024 All-Big 12 Volleyball Award Winners
Player of the Year: Melanie Parra, TCU OH, Sr.
Libero of the Year: Mary Shroll, Arizona State, L, Gr.
Setter of the Year: Argentina Ung, Arizona State, S, Gr.
Freshman of the Year: Reese Ptacek, Kansas
Coach of the Year: JJ Van Niel, Arizona State*
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Caroline Bien, Kansas
All-Big 12 First Team
Jaelyn Hodge, Arizona, OH, Fifth Year
Jordan Wilson, Arizona, OH, Jr.
Argentina Ung, Arizona State, S, Gr.*
Geli Cyr, Arizona State, OH, Sr.
Claire Jeter, Arizona State, MB, Gr.
Mary Shroll, Arizona State, L, Gr.
Elise McGhee, Baylor, OH, Sr.*
Claire Little, BYU, OH, So.*
Brielle Kemavor, BYU, MB, So.
Kate Georgiades, Houston, L, Gr.
Reese Ptacek, Kansas, MB, Fr.
Toyosi Onabanjo, Kansas, MB, Sr.
Camryn Turner, Kansas, S, Sr.*
Ayah Elnady, Kansas, OH, Sr.
Aliyah Carter, K-State, OH, Gr.
Jalyn Gibson, TCU, OH, Jr.
Melanie Parra, TCU, OH, Sr.*
Kamryn Gibadlo, Utah, OH, So.*
Allie Olsen, Utah, MB, Fifth Year
All-Big 12 Second Team
Avery Scoggins, Arizona, S, Fr.
Savannah Kjolhede, Arizona State, MB, Gr.
Jackie Barrett Frazier, Baylor, S, Gr.
Lauren Briseo, Baylor, L/DS, Sr.
Allie Sczech, Baylor, OPP, Jr.
Emily Wilson, UCF, OH, Sr.
Abby Walker, Cincinnati, MB/RS, Sr.
Ana Burilovic, Colorado, OH, So.
Angela Grieve, Houston, OH, Gr.
Amiree Hendricks-Walker, Iowa State, MB, RS-Jr.
Brooke Stonestreet, Iowa State, L, Sr.
Caroline Bien, Kansas, OH/L
London Davis, Kansas, OPP, Sr.
Ella Larkin, K-State, L/DS, Sr.
Brynn Williams, Texas Tech, OH, Jr.
Lauren Jardine, Utah, OH, Sr.
Emrie Satuala, Utah, MB, Jr.
All-Rookie Team
Avery Scoggins, Arizona, S
Carlie Cisneros, Arizona, OH
Alex Bower, BYU, S
Elli Mortensen, BYU, OH
Faith Frame, Cincinnati, L/DS
Rachel Van Gorp, Iowa State, L/OH
Reese Ptacek, Kansas, MB*
Becca Kelley, TCU, OH
Alice Volpe, TCU, DS/L
Isabelle Marco, Utah, S
*Unanimous selection
Players for the First, Second and Rookie Teams are sorted alphabetically by school.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced the 2024 Volleyball All-Academic Selections
73 student-athletes from the conference’s elite eight institutions who achieved academic success during the 2023-24 academic year.
MEAC sophomore, junior and senior student-athletes with a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average, as well as transfer student-athletes who have been in residence at the institution for at least one year, are eligible for All-Academic accolades.
“I want to congratulate our women’s volleyball student-athletes for maintaining a 3.0 or better grade point average,” MEAC Commissioner Sonja Stills said. “The ultimate goal is to develop and graduate our student-athletes to be productive citizens in our society, and success in the classroom is as important, if not more so, as what happens on the court.”
Listed below are the 2024 Volleyball All-Academic honorees (by institutions):
Coppin State (10)
Sophia Metoyer Bertotti
Kahea Carvalho
Ahzhi Coleman
Coco Figueroa
Alessia Gallo
Ezgi Kucuk
Azuk Pilahg
Andrea Serrano
TaKenya Stafford
Gabriela Zuquelo
Delaware State (14)
Elvira Agaton
Ana Cambraia
Emma Crakow
Haley Crawford
Leilani Diggs
Shalyn Garcia
Martyna Kmuk
Julia Kneba
Madison Martin
Valeria Otero
Ajaylah Pitts
Hannah Sanders
Naz Tuncay
Maria Verrier
Howard (10)
Gabrielle Allen
Maya Gerlach
Amanda Ifeanyichukwu
Sydnei Jones
Rya McKinnon
Leah Reeves
Maddie Siegel
Claire Simpson
Bria Woodard
Cimone Woodard
Maryland Eastern Shore (6)
Soleil Cotton
Anisa Dorlouis
Ranyla Griggs
Nkemjika Ikemefuna
Lyric Snowden
Isil Yilmaz
Morgan State (11)
Jada Williams
Mya Karrick
Trinity Carruthers
Hannah Chappelle
Erin Carpenter
Ainara Fernandez
Addison Metts
Daniela Ferreira
Ellis Spencer
Tyrah Weems
Mikaela Esparza
Norfolk State (6)
Jala Dixon
Gabrielle Gilbert
Alexa Harris
Calyce Jones
Sydney McCree
Ryan Nored
North Carolina Central (11)
Bella Dearinger
Azra Osmanovic
Neira Joldic
Amarah Johnson
Carlin Collins
Loren Johnson
Makenzi Searcy
Vanila Pulu-Suliafu
Kennedy Clark
Jaelyn Hall
Emmie Modlin
South Carolina State (5)
Kaia Barnett
Hailey Harris
Xaria Pickett
McKinley Roach
Trinity Stevenson
Sun Belt End of Season Awards
Troy senior outside hitter Tori Hester was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year as well as the Offensive Player of the Year. Over the course of the season, she recorded 508 kills and 577.5 points. She led the Sun Belt in kills (508), points (577.5), kills per set (5.08), points per set (5.78) and service aces (40). Entering the final weekend of the regular season, she was top five nationally in kills, points, kills per set and points per set. Hester was the only player in the SBC with more than 400 kills and more than 5.00 kills per set. Her 5.08 kills per set is 0.80 clear of her previous season best. The senior outside hitter recorded double-figure kills in every single match this season, and has recorded at least 10 kills in the last 48 matches dating back to last season, which is the longest known active streak in Division I women’s volleyball. Hester has recorded 20 or more kills in 11 matches this season, and 30 or more kills in four matches. Within conference play, she totaled 349 kills (5.37 k/s), leading the next closest player by 59 kills. Her 5.37 k/s was 0.45 clear of second place. She also had 389.0 points, which was 70 points clear of anyone else. There were five instances of a Sun Belt player recording 30 or more kills in a conference match this season, and Hester had four of those. Hester became Troy’s all-time leader in kills, kills per set and points this season. She had 11 double-doubles (kills-digs). In her 33-kill showing against Southern Miss she had a season-high 22 digs as well. She also recorded a career-high 45 blocks this season (14 solo, 31 assists).
Arkansas State’s Daedrianna Cail was named both the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year as well as Newcomer of the Year. The junior transfer led the league with 25 solo blocks and was third in block assists (105). Cail finished third in the conference in total blocks (130) and fourth in blocks per set (1.23). In SBC play, she led all blockers with 88 total blocks and 19 solos, averaging 1.35 blocks per set. She ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage (.356) and tallied 217 kills (2.05/set) with seven matches of 10-plus kills. Over the season, she totaled five or more blocks 13 times, including a pair of matches surpassing 10 blocks and a season-high of 11 against Troy. Cail accounted for 300.5 points - second most on the squad (2.83/set) and had 10-plus kills in seven matches with a season high of 17.
Arkansas State’s Sarah Martinez was voted as the Sun Belt Libero of the Year. The two-time SBC Defensive Player of the Week anchored Arkansas State’s league-best defense that held opponents to a hitting percentage of .138 in conference play and .140 overall, the latter ranking among the top 10 nationally. Martinez was rated as the No. 1 libero in the league using the AVCA’s Production Analysis Algorithm. Overall, she ranks second in the conference in total digs (512), averaging 4.70 per set. In SBC matches, was second in digs (317) and averaged 4.88 digs/set. Martinez had 25 double-digit dig performances, including 13 with 20 or more and a season-best of 30 on 11/15 at Old Dominion.
Texas State setter Ryann Torres was voted the Sun Belt Setter of the Year after averaging 10.87 assists per set through league play. Her setting was a large part of the Bobcats 13-3 run in SBC play this season and the team attack percentage of .240, which was one of the best in the Sun Belt. Torres was one of just two Sun Belt setters to eclipse 590 assists this season, as she accomplished the feat in 55 sets of work. Torres boasts four of the league’s top 5 performances in a three set match this season with 43 assists (11/1 vs USM), 43 assists (11/9 vs Coastal), 41 assists (10/18 vs Ark State) and 40 assists (10/26 vs ULM). She tallied five double doubles in conference play including: 37 assists/20 digs at South Alabama, 41 assists/11 digs at ULM, 43 assists/11 digs vs Southern Miss, 43 assists/14 digs at Coastal Carolina, and 44 assists/11 digs vs James Madison. Torres aided defensively by averaging 2.62 digs per set. She tallied a season-best 54 assists in the Bobcats match at Louisiana where she helped the team to an attack percentage of .249. Texas State led the conference in assists per set with 13.40 as Torres was named Sun Belt setter of the week three times this season.
App State right side Elise Marchal was voted as the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year after aiding the Mountaineers to a 17-8 season record, 11-3 Sun Belt record and 10-2 East Division Record. Her efforts on the court helped the Mountaineers to the top seed in the East Division for the first time since 2018. Marchal led the team in aces with 32 on the season, was second on the team in digs with 262, and was third on the team in kills (221 total, averaging 2.21 kills per set) and blocks (68 total, two solo, 66 assists). She tallied eight double-doubles this fall and recorded a career-high 15 kills against Troy on Nov. 14 and a career high 19 digs against Georgia Southern on Oct. 18. Marchal recorded double-figure kills in 10 matches and recorded double-figure digs in 16 matches. The Kings Mill, Ohio native rounded out the league’s top-10 in aces and during league play she ranked fourth in the league in aces (23).
Arkansas State head coach Brian Gerwig led the Red Wolves to the Sun Belt Regular Season Championship and was voted by his peers as the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. Gerwig led Arkansas State to its first conference regular-season title since 2016 and the program’s first No. 1 seed in the West Division since 2016. He guided the Red Wolves to 24 overall wins, their most regular-season victories since 2015, as well as a 14-2 mark in SBC play, the program’s best since 2016. A-State ended the regular season on a nine-match winning streak, the program’s longest since 2016. Under his watch, the Red Wolves fielded the league’s best defense, leading in opposing hitting percentage (.140 / .138 in SBC play), opponent assists/set (10.31 / 10.55) and opponent kills/set (10.99 / 11.22) and ranking second in digs (1,773 / 1106) and total blocks (254 / 170). On offense, the Red Wolves ranked fourth or better in assists (1st-1355), kills (1st-1459), assists/set (3rd-12.43), kills/set (3rd-13.39)points/set (3rd-17.17) and hitting percentage (4th-.230). With his leadership, Gerwig guided an Arkansas State team from 9 wins in 2022 to 16 in 2023 before turning in 24 wins through 2024.
