CLEVELAND, Ohio – The
Mid-American Conference announced its 2023 volleyball All-MAC teams, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Setter of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year on Saturday, as voted by the league's head coaches.
Western Michigan’s Colleen Munson was named MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Broncos to a perfect 18-0 league mark and the program's 10th MAC regular season title. WMU also collected the MAC West Division Championship and number one seed in this season’s MAC Volleyball Championship.
Western Michigan’s Logan Case took home the MAC Player of the Year for the 2023 season. Case, a six-time MAC West Setter of the Week in MAC play, had 33 or more assists in each conference match and averaged a league-best 12.45 assists/set. She also collected 40 or more assists 10 times and 50 or more three times in MAC play and helped the Broncos hit .300 or better eight times in the conference slate. Through Case, WMU led the league in hitting percentage (.285), assists/set (14.15) and kills/set (15.08) in conference action. The senior also posted six double-doubles in MAC play and averaged 2.33 digs/set.
Western Michigan’s Andelyn Simkins earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Simkins, a four-time MAC West Defensive Player of the week in MAC play, recorded double-digit digs in each conference match and registered 20 or more six times. The Bronco libero ranked second in the league in conference matches in total digs (320) and digs/set (5.33) on top of helping WMU lead the MAC in opposing hitting percentage (.181) and digs/set (17.58) in conference play. The senior made just nine errors (0.15/set) on serve receive and posted a .963 (233-for-242) reception percentage in league matches, also finishing seventh in service aces/set (0.37) in conference play.
In addition to earning Player of the Year accolades, Western Michigan’s Logan Case was tabbed Setter of the Year. With the award, Case becomes the first setter in Mid-American Conference history to earn the award three times in a career. Case also becomes just the second player in MAC history to earn MAC Player of the Year and Setter of the Year honors in the same season, joining Ohio’s Abby Gilleland in 2013 and 2014.
Ball State’s Aniya Kennedy rounded out the specialty awards, earning Freshman of the Year honors. Kennedy transitioned from middle to outside hitter due to an injury depleted Ball State lineup and ranked second among all MAC players with a 4.56 kills-per-set average. She smashed 20-or-more kills in six league matches, including a career-high 25 twice, and scored double-digit kills in 17 of BSU’s 18 league matches while leading Ball State’s attackers in kills in 15 of those contests. The redshirt freshman also ranked second in #MACtion with 301 kills in league play. Kennedy was a three-time MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week during league play and hit .247 in conference play, including nine matches above .250.
The MAC Volleyball Tournament will begin on Saturday, November 18 with two quarterfinal matches at 4:00PM ET and 6:30PM ET, with the semifinals taking place the following day in those same time slots.
The MAC Volleyball Championship will take place on Monday, November 20 at 6:30PM ET. All matches in the 2023 MAC Volleyball Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+. The winner will take home the MAC title and will earn an automatic bid in the upcoming NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament.
2023 MAC Volleyball All-MAC Teams & Specialty Award Winners
Coach of the Year: Colleen Munson, Western Michigan
Player of the Year: Logan Case, Senior, Setter, Western Michigan
Defensive Player of the Year: Andelyn Simkins, Senior, Libero, Western Michigan
Freshman of the Year: Aniya Kennedy, Outside Hitter, Ball State
Setter of the Year: Logan Case, Senior, Western Michigan
All-MAC First Team
Aniya Kennedy, Redshirt Freshman, Outside Hitter, Ball State
Marie Plitt, Graduate Student, Middle Blocker, Ball State
Megan Wielonski, Junior, Setter, Ball State
Lauryn Hovey, Sophomore, Opposite, Bowling Green
Abby Leigh, Fifth Year, Outside Hitter/Middle Blocker, Buffalo
Mandy Leigh, Junior, Setter, Buffalo
Courtney Okwara, Fifth Year, Middle Blocker, Buffalo
Katrin Trebichavska, Senior, Outside Hitter, Buffalo
Anna Kharchynska, Sophomore, Opposite, Ohio
Caitlin O’Farrell, Graduate Student, Middle Blocker, Ohio
Taylor Alt, Senior, Outside Hitter, Toledo
Logan Case, Senior, Setter, Western Michigan
Maggie King, Graduate Student, Outside Hitter, Western Michigan
Andelyn Simkins, Senior, Libero, Western Michigan
All-MAC Second Team
Kat Mandly, Junior, Outside Hitter, Bowling Green
Claire Ammeraal, Sophomore, Setter, Central Michigan
Callie Minshew, Graduate Student, Outside Hitter, Eastern Michigan
Ryann Jaqua, Fifth Year, Libero, Toledo
Anna Calcagno, Senior, Outside Hitter, Western Michigan
Mary Clare Brusek, Sophomore, Middle Blocker, Western Michigan
Keona Salesman, Senior, Outside Hitter, Western Michigan
All-Freshman Team
Eliska Vytiskova, Setter, Akron
Aniya Kennedy, Middle Blocker, Ball State
Camryn Wise, Middle Blocker, Ball State
Manoela Forlin, Outside Hitter/Right Side, Buffalo
Logan Henderson, Outside Hitter, Kent State
Kam Hunt, Outside Hitter, Ohio
Macy Hatkevich, Setter, Toledo
