Big South Announces 2023 Volleyball Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) –- High Point outside hitter
Dylan Maberry (Magnolia, Texas) has been voted the 2023 Big South Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, while HPU head coach
Ryan Meek was selected Coach of the Year by the league’s head coaches, it was announced this afternoon by the conference office. In addition, the coaches voted High Point’s
Allie Gray (Omaha, Neb.) the Setter of the Year, Gardner-Webb libero
Sophia Kotsovolos (Tampa, Fla.) the Defensive Player of the Year, High Point middle blocker
Eve Wilson (Sandy, Utah) the Freshman of the Year, and HPU rightside/outside hitter
Christine Graf (Minneapolis, Minn.) as the Newcomer of the Year. UNC Asheville’s
Ona Elkins (Asheville, N.C.) was selected Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league’s sports information directors.
Maberry is the fourth consecutive Panther to be voted Big South Player of the Year, and HPU’s fifth honoree in the last six seasons. She appeared in all 96 sets this season and led the team and Big South with 401 kills to average 4.18 per set. Maberry collected seven 20-plus kill matches in 2023, including a career-high 29 kills versus Wofford. She also led the squad and conference with 45 service aces and had a season-high five at USC Upstate. Maberry enters the Big South Championship as the conference leader in points with 474.5 (4.94 per set), while her 241 digs were second-most for the Panthers. In Big South matches, Maberry averaged 5.42 points per set (238.5 total), 4.48 kills per set (197 total), had 27 service aces, 126 digs and 24 blocks. A four-time Big South Player of the Week honoree in 2023, Maberry received seven first-place votes and 133 total points in the voting to earn a spot on the All-Conference First-Team, and finished ahead of Winthrop’s
Brookelynn Thomas (113 points and one first-place vote) and teammate
Eve Wilson (96 points) for Player of the Year honors.
Meek earns his third Big South Coach of the Year honor in four seasons after leading the 21-6 Panthers to the Big South regular-season championship following a perfect 14-0 conference season. His squad won 20 matches for the fifth time, and directed the program to its sixth regular-season title in the last seven seasons. The Panthers set a program-record for the longest 3-0 win streak in Big South matches with 12 consecutive, and the team finished with a 42-2 won-loss mark in league sets. High Point is the Big South leader in overall hitting percentage (.247), lowest opponent hitting percentage (.144), assists (1,128, 11.75) and kills (1,233, 12.84). In Big South action, the Panthers were tops with a .296 hitting efficiency, .087 opponent hitting percentage, 14.55 kills per set, 13.50 assists and 1.95 service aces. Meek finished with four first-place votes and 18 points in the voting, ahead of Gardner-Webb’s
Eric Plunkett (12 points and two first-place votes), and Winthrop’s
Heather Gearhart (nine points and one first-place vote).
Gray is the third Setter of the Year honoree, as the award was added entering the 2021 season, and is the third High Point player to be voted the league’s top setter. She appeared in 88 sets and led the team with 828 assists for a conference-leading 9.41 per set average. Gray had a career-high 56 assists at Wofford and totaled 30+ assists in 15 matches. She added 37 kills, 16 service aces, 166 digs and 38 blocks, and recorded a season-high four service aces at Minnesota. In Big South competition, Gray was the lone player to average double-digit assists with her 10.78 clip. She received five first-place votes and 18 points in the Setter of the Year voting, ahead of Winthrop’s
Isabella Murray (one first-place votes and 13 points), and Charleston Southern’s
Ilaria Durante (two first-place votes and nine points).
Kotsolovos is the third Defensive Player of the Year honoree, as this award was also added beginning with the 2021 season. The first Gardner-Webb recipient of the award, Kotsovolos was a three-time Libero of the Week this season, leading the Big South in overall digs with 474 (4.89 dig/s) and digs within the conference with 253 (4.87 dig/s). Against Presbyterian on Senior Day, she recorded a career-high 37 digs, which tied her for the seventh-most digs in a match in GWU program history. Kotsovolos is also the program's first earn Big South First-Team All-Conference honors. Her efforts this season helped lead Gardner-Webb to its first semifinal appearance in program history and a secure a program-record eight conference wins in a season. Kotsovolos received 16 points and four first-place votes, just ahead of High Point’s
Jordyn Schilling (15 points and three first-place votes), and Winthrop’s Thomas (seven points).
Wilson is High Point’s sixth Big South Freshman of the Year honoree since 2013. She appeared in 93 sets and was third on the team with 199 kills (2.14 per set). Wilson finished the regular-season as the Big South leader in hitting percentage at .358, and was fourth in the conference with 93 total blocks (1.00 per set). Name Big South Player of the Week twice as well as Freshman of the Week on another two occasions, Wilson had a season-high 21 kills versus Presbyterian and a season-high seven blocks against UMBC and Liberty. She added 12 service aces and 30 digs on the season. In league matches, Wilson ranked first with a .435 hitting percentage and totaled 117 kills (2.85) and 41 blocks. She received four first-place votes and 45 total points in the freshman voting, just ahead of Gardner-Webb’s
Jenna Otts (three first-place votes and 43 points) and HPU’s
BayLea Sparks (31 points).
Graf is the first Big South Volleyball Newcomer of the Year, which recognizes the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time. She appeared in 93 sets this season and totaled 268 kills and 47 blocks. Graf averaged 2.88 kills per set in addition to a .234 hit percentage, and recorded a season-high 22 kills at Wofford. She reached double digits in kills in 12 matches, had a season-high six blocks in her season debut, and added 26 digs. The Big South Player of the Week for Sept. 4-10 matches, Graf received six first-place votes and 20 total points in the balloting, ahead of Gardner-Webb’s
Autumn Flowers (12 points) and Presbyterian’s
Hannah Rowe (10 points).
Elkins is a 4.00 student as a double major in Interdisciplinary Studies and Political Science, and is now a two-time Big South All-Academic Team honoree. She received the UNC Asheville Talent Award Scholarship, is a McRae Scholar and has been named to the Chancellor’s List. Elkins also is a SAAC Representative, served as political science club president and treasurer, is a member of the political science honor society and a member of the XAE National Athletic Honor Society. She finished the 2023 season with 375 assists, 20 service aces and 160 digs in 85 sets played.
The conference also announced on Wednesday the complete All-Conference Team, which features a seven-member First- and Second-Team and five-member Honorable Mention squad (plus any ties), as well as the All-Freshman Team and All-Academic Team, all of which are listed below. The 2023 Big South Volleyball Championship tournament begins Saturday, Nov. 18 with the semifinals from the Millis Athletic Center in High Point, N.C.
2023 Big South Conference Volleyball Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
Dylan Maberry, OH, Sr., High Point
Brookelynn Thomas, MB/OH, Sr., Winthrop
Eve Wilson, MB, Fr., High Point
Jordyn Schilling, DS, Soph., High Point
Christine Graf, RS/OH, Gr., High Point
Allie Gray, S, Jr., High Point
Sophia Kotsovolos, LIB, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Second-Team All-Conference
Avery Jolley, OH/OPP, Soph., Winthrop
Jenna Otts, OH/RS, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Ady O’Grady, MB, Soph., USC Upstate
Kasey Battle, OPP, Sr., Presbyterian College
BayLea Sparks, MB, R-Fr., High Point
Isabella Murray, S, R-Soph., Winthrop
Hannah Rowe, OH, Jr., Presbyterian College
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Autumn Flowers, MB, Jr., Gardner-Webb
Sophie Paspal, MB, Jr., Radford
Ashleigh Nicoll, OH, Jr., USC Upstate
Kayla Spangler, S, Jr., USC Upstate
Riley Oglevie, OH/OPP, Sr., Winthrop (tie)
Hailey Grocholski, MB, Sr., Presbyterian College (tie)
All-Freshman Team
Eve Wilson, MB, Fr., High Point
Jenna Otts, OH/RS, Fr., Gardner-Webb
BayLea Sparks, MB, R-Fr., High Point
Madison Smith, OH/RS, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Ashley Miller, OH, Fr., Presbyterian College
Teagan Sychterz, MB, Fr., Winthrop
Albertine van der Goot, S/RS, Fr., UNC Asheville
All-Academic Team
Indigo Young, Sr, Charleston Southern
Morgan Hornaday, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Evy Eckensberger, Sr., High Point
Kinsey Bailey, Sr., Presbyterian College
Sophie Paspal, Jr., Radford
Ona Elkins, Sr., UNC Asheville
Julia Gladhill, Jr, USC Upstate
Karli Shepherd, Jr., Winthrop
Player of the Year
Dylan Maberry, OH, Sr., High Point
Setter of the Year
Allie Gray, Jr., High Point
Defensive Player of the Year
Sophia Kotsovolos, LIB, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Freshman of the Year
Eve Wilson, MB, Fr., High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Christine Graf, RS/OH, Gr., High Point
Coach of the Year
Ryan Meek, High Point
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Ona Elkins, Sr., UNC Asheville