CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced the recipients of the 2025 MAC Volleyball Specialty Awards and All-MAC squads on Thursday morning. The league’s 12 head coaches voted on the awards. Twenty-two student-athletes were named to the All-MAC First and Second Teams, while seven freshmen were named to the MAC All-Freshman Team. 
 
Ball State’s Kelli Miller Phillips was named MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to their 11th MAC Regular Season Title and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. Ball State finished 21-9 overall this season and tied the third-best MAC record in program history at 17-1. Miller Phillips was also named MAC Coach of the Year in 2021 and 2022.
 
A four-time MAC Offensive Player of the Week, Carson Tyler led BSU and ranked second among MAC players with 4.22 kills per set to drive home MAC Player of the Year honors. She recorded at least nine kills in all 18 MAC matches, including double-digits in 16 and 20-or-more in three. Her 29 kills in the win over Toledo (Oct. 10) were the most by a MAC player in a league match. Tyler led BSU’s primary passers with a .9643 reception percentage on a team-high 421 attempts, and was second on the team with 175 digs, including 10 kill/dig double-doubles. She served 27 aces, for a MAC-best 0.42 aces-per-set average. Tyler is the fourth Cardinal to receive Player of the Year honors, and the first since Emil Sallee in 1999.
 
Toledo’s Grace Freiberger, Defensive Player of the Year, saw action in all 73 sets across league play this season, totaling 370 digs and averaging 5.07 digs/set, both of which ranked first in the league. Freiberger tallied 27 total service aces, firing off 0.37 aces/set to rank fifth in the MAC. Freiberger is the first Rocket in school history to be named MAC Defensive Player of the Year, since the award's inception in 2006.
 
MAC Freshman of the Year, Bailey Blair leads Ohio with 3.13 kills per set and ranks ninth among conference players. She also leads the team with 526 total attempts and 3.37 points per set. Blair has done it all for the Bobcats – she has played outside, middle, and right side throughout her freshman campaign, posting a .234 attack percentage. Blair has posted double-digit kills in 13 out of 18 MAC contests and eclipsed a .400 attack percentage on four occasions. Blair is the fifth Bobcat to be named MAC Freshman of the Year, and the first since Tia Jimerson in 2017.
 
For the first time since 2020, the MAC saw two players earn Setter of the Year honors, Ball State’s Lindsey Green and Reese Axness. The 6/2 pair combined to help the BSU offense lead the MAC with a .274 attack percentage in league play. The Cardinals also averaged league-highs of 13.14 assists, 14.05 kills, and 17.66 points-per-set in conference play. Green ranked 10th in the league with a 6.71 assists-per-set average, ranked second on the squad with 26 aces, and collected four assist/dig double-doubles. Axness averaged 4.71 assists per set and recorded three assist/dig double-doubles. Green and Axness earned MAC Setter Pair of the Week honors on four occasions this season.
 
The MAC Volleyball Tournament will begin on Friday, November 21, with two quarterfinal matches at 4:00 PM ET and 7:00 PM ET, followed by the semifinals the next day in the same time slots.
 
The MAC Volleyball Championship will take place on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 4:00 PM ET. All matches in the 2025 MAC Volleyball Tournament will be streamed on ESPN+. The winner will take home the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship title and will earn an automatic bid in the 2025 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament.
 
2025 MAC Volleyball All-MAC Teams & Specialty Award Winners
Coach of the Year: Kelli Miller Phillips, Ball State
Player of the Year: Carson Tyler, Ball State
Defensive Player of the Year: Grace Freiberger, Toledo
Freshman of the Year: Bailey Blair, Ohio
Setters of the Year: Lindsey Green and Reese Axness, Ball State
 
All-MAC First Team
Delaney Gash, Outside Hitter, Akron
Gwen Crull, Middle Blocker, Ball State
Sophie Ledbetter, Libero, Ball State
Carson Tyler, Outside Hitter, Ball State
Camryn Wise, Middle Blocker, Ball State
Jessica Andrews, Middle Blocker, Bowling Green
Avery Hobson, Outside Hitter, Bowling Green
Bailey Blair, Middle Blocker, Ohio
Emily Waddell, Middle Blocker, Ohio
Grace Freiberger, Libero, Toledo
Olivia Heitkamp, Outside Hitter, Toledo
Kelsey Smith, Setter, Toledo
Mary Clare Brusek, Middle Blocker, Western Michigan
Amanda Glanton, Middle Blocker, Western Michigan
Leah Richmond, Setter, Western Michigan
 
All-MAC Second Team
Martina Villani, Setter, Akron
Manoela Forlin, Outside Hitter, Buffalo
Emerson Matthews, Outside Hitter, Buffalo
Natalia Rejment, Outside Hitter, Central Michigan
Molly Creech, Outside Hitter, Miami
Gentry Warrick, Middle Blocker, Miami
Sierra Pertzborn, Middle Blocker, Toledo
 
MAC All-Freshman Team
Lyndi Wolf, Middle Blocker, Akron
Reese Axness, Setter, Ball State
Emerson Matthews, Outside Hitter, Buffalo
Molly Creech, Outside Hitter, Miami
Bailey Blair, Middle Blocker, Ohio
Jessica Costlow, Outside Hitter, Toledo
Leah Richmond, Setter, Western Michigan