Big South Announces 2025 Volleyball Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) –- Winthrop outside hitter/opposite
Avery Jolley (Knoxville, Tenn.) has been voted the 2025 Big South Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, while Eagles’ head coach
Heather Gearhart 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 USC Upstate’s
Kamyla Vega David (Carolina, Puerto Rico) the Setter of the Year, Gardner-Webb’s
Nalani McBride (Stafford, Va.) and UNC Asheville’s
Michelle Thao (Hickory, N.C.) the Co-Libero of the Year, High Point middle blocker
Maya Bukovcan (Ottawa, Ontario) the Freshman of the Year, and McBride as the Newcomer of the Year. Jolley repeated as Scholar-Athlete of the Year as voted by the league’s volleyball communications contacts.
Jolley becomes the first Eagle to capture Player of the Year honors since
Siani Yamaguchi did so in 2019. Jolley’s 2025 campaign has been one for the record books, as she tied the program record with 30 kills in a single match in her final regular-season game and crept into the Top 10 in numerous Winthrop career marks. Jolley finished the 14-match conference slate with 227 kills for 3.98 per set, also slotting in second in the conference with 4.46 points per set. Her season-long performance was recognized with spots on the Winthrop Invitational and Furman Invitational All-Tournament Teams -- along with four Big South Player of the Week awards. In 24 matches played overall this season, Jolley posted 362 kills (3.77 per set), 27 service aces (0.28), 412 points (4.29), 243 digs (2.53) and 42 total blocks. She received five first-place votes and 124 total points in the voting to earn a spot on the All-Conference First-Team, and finished ahead of High Point’s
Élodie Lalonde (118 points and two first-place votes), and HPU’s Bukovcan (one first-place vote) and USC Upstate’s
Ady O’Grady, who tied with 113 points, for Player of the Year honors.
Gearhart earns her first Big South Coach of the Year honor after directing the Eagles to the program’s first regular-season conference championship since 2019, as well as the No. 1 seed in this week’s postseason tournament. Gearhart guided the Eagles to an 18-6 overall record, with a 12-2 mark in conference play -- which included a season sweep of co-regular season champion High Point. Under Gearhart, the Eagles closed Big South play on a 10-match win streak and captured 10 home wins for the first time since 2019. Winthrop is the Big South leader in overall hitting percentage (.234), kills per set (13.61) and assists per set (12.44). In Big South action, the Eagles posted a .231 hitting efficiency, limited opponents to a .186 clip, had the most kills (800) and assists (721), and averaged 17.51 digs per set. Gearhart finished with four first-place votes and 16 points in the voting, just ahead of Charleston Southern’s
Carry Brown (14 points and two first-place votes), and High Point’s
Ryan Meek (nine points and one first-place vote).
Vega David is the first Spartan to win Big South Setter of the Year honors. She led the Big South in overall assists with 1,089 and assists per set with 10.37 -- the lone Big South player above 1,000 and 10.00, and was 10th in the league in service aces per set with 0.29. Vega David appeared in all 27 matches and 105 sets, and ranked third on the squad with 266 digs (2.33) and second with her 30 service aces. She added 57 kills and 45 total blocks on the season. A six-time Big South Setter of the Week honoree in 2025, Vega David passed out a career-high-tying 55 assists on two occasions: versus UNC Asheville on Sept. 26 and versus Presbyterian on Oct. 3. She dug up a season-high 17 balls twice: Sept. 26 against Asheville and Oct. 17 vs. High Point. Vega David recorded 30 or more assists in 22 matches, accumulated 40 or more assists in 14 matches, and 50 or more assists in six matches. She finished the regular-season with double-figure digs 15 times. She received four first-place votes and 18 points in the Setter of the Year voting, ahead of Winthrop’s
Rachel McCollum (15 points and three first-place votes), and High Point’s
Remy Catojo (12 points and one first-place vote).
McBride and Thao tied with 15 points in Libero of the Year voting. McBride, a graduate transfer from Temple, was voted Big South Libero of the Week seven times over the course of the season, where she recorded 653 digs for an average of 5.62 digs per set. It was the second-most digs in a single NCAA Division I season at Gardner-Webb, just seven shy of the record. She concluded the regular-season as the Big South and NCAA Division I leader in both total digs and digs per set. In Conference action, McBride was tops with 305 digs and 5.75 digs per set. Her 39 digs against Charleston Southern on Oct. 18 were a league-high this season, and she tallied at least 20 digs in 18 matches this year. In the Newcomer of the Year voting, which recognizes the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time, McBride collected five first-place votes and 17 points, ahead of Presbyterian’s
Anisa Dorlouis (12 points and two first-place votes) and Winthrop’s
Laila Glover (10 points and one first-place vote).
Thao played in all 27 matches and 99 sets during the regular-season, in which she recorded 484 digs (4.89 per set), tallied 24 aces, and achieved a stellar 95.5 reception percentage across 514 receptions. She earned her 1,000th career dig as a Bulldog this season, and was voted Big South Libero of the Week three times this fall. In league action, Thao finished with 261 digs (second-most) and was third with 5.22 digs per set. She had three matches with at least 30 digs, including 34 at UNC Greensboro on Sept. 20 and vs. Charleston Southern on Oct. 3. McBride and Thao finished ahead of USC Upstate’s
Sophia Overholt (13 points and one first-place vote) in the Libero of the Year balloting.
Bukovcan is High Point’s fifth Freshman of the Year honoree in nine seasons. She appeared in all 25 matches and 95 sets this season for the Panthers, and finished third on the team in kills after totaling 205 to average 2.16 per set on the middle attack. She was efficient on offense as she finished the regular-season as the Big South leader with a .382 hit percentage. On the block, she led the league with 1.14 blocks per set after totaling 108 blocks. She also added 33 digs, 13 assists and 12 service aces. In Big South matches, Bukovcan was tops with a .408 hitting clip, and tied for the most blocks per set with 1.08 (55 blocks in 51 sets). A four-time Big South Freshman of the Week selection, Bukovcan received seven first-place votes and 48 points to earn the Freshman of the Year honor and the top spot on the All-Freshman Team, as she finished ahead of USC Upstate’s
Summer Kohler (39 points and two first-place votes) and Catojo (34 points).
Jolley is first back-to-back Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award winner since 2020 and 2021. She is a 4.0 student majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management. Jolley has been a member of Winthrop’s Honors College, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, FCA and Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society. She has been named to the Dean's list every semester, as well as the Big South Presidential Honor Roll each year.
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 2025 Big South Volleyball Championship tournament begins Friday, Nov. 21 with the first round from the Millis Athletic Center in High Point, N.C.
2025 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL AWARD WINNERS
First-Team All-Conference
Avery Jolley, OH/OPP, Sr., Winthrop
Élodie Lalonde, OH, Soph., High Point
Maya Bukovcan, MB, Fr., High Point
Ady O’Grady, MB, Sr., USC Upstate
Kamyla Vega David, S, Soph., USC Upstate
Rachel McCollum, S, Sr., Winthrop
Nalani McBride, LIB, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Michelle Thao, LIB, 5th Year, UNC Asheville
Second-Team All-Conference
Skylar Yates, OH, Sr., Charleston Southern
Summer Kohler, OH, Fr., USC Upstate
Remy Catojo, S, Fr., High Point
Addison Freeland, MB, Soph., High Point
Paige Bennett, OH, Soph., Winthrop
Teagan Sychterz, MB, R-Soph., Winthrop
Emily Struckmeyer, MB, Sr., Charleston Southern
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Albertine van der Goot, RS, Jr., UNC Asheville
Kylie Cackovic, OH, R-Jr., UNC Asheville
Giselle Little, MB, Soph., Winthrop
Kensley Haneline, MB, Fr., USC Upstate
Sophia Overholt, DS/LIB, Fr., USC Upstate
All-Freshman Team
Maya Bukovcan, MB, Fr., High Point
Summer Kohler, OH, Fr., USC Upstate
Remy Catojo, S, Fr., High Point
Kensley Haneline, MB, Fr., USC Upstate
Sophia Overholt, DS/LIB, Fr., USC Upstate
Olivia Ryno, RH/OH, Fr., Radford
Addison Torain, DS, Fr., Winthrop
All-Academic Team
Emily Struckmeyer, Sr., Charleston Southern
Milla Lugo, Jr., Gardner-Webb
Allie Gray, Gr., High Point
Julia Yurkovich, Jr., Presbyterian
Rylee Sloss, Sr., Radford
Albertine van der Goot, Jr., UNC Asheville
Ady O’Grady, Sr., USC Upstate
Avery Jolley, Sr., Winthrop
Player of the Year
Avery Jolley, OH/OPP, Sr., Winthrop
Setter of the Year
Kamyla Vega David, Soph., USC Upstate
Co-Libero of the Year
Nalani McBride, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Michelle Thao, LIB, 5th Year, UNC Asheville
Freshman of the Year
Maya Bukovcan, MB, Fr., High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Nalani McBride, LIB, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Coach of the Year
Heather Gearhart, Winthrop
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Avery Jolley, Sr., Winthrop