NEW ORLEANS – James Madison junior outside hitter Kennedy Louisell earns Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year to headline the league’s 2-25 All-Conference Teams and individual awards, voted on by all 14 head coaches in the league.

Louisell was named the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after leading the conference in kills (555), kills per set (4.95), points (618), and points per set (5.47). She led the country in kills for over eight weeks this season and has been inside the top 10 in kills per set throughout the year. She also became the first James Madison player to be named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week, which she did on Oct. 28 following a 38-kill, 20-dig outing against Georgia Southern. Louisell finished the regular season with 555 kills, breaking the JMU Division I single-season kills record which was previously held by Janey Goodman in 2016. Within league play, she totaled 323 kills at a clip of 4.75 per set and had at least 10 kills in every match, eight with 20+, four with 25+, and two with 30+. She set the program record for single-match kills twice, first recording 37 against Georgia State on Oct. 4 and then breaking her own record with 38 in a five-set win over Georgia Southern on Oct. 25. At the time, her 38-kill, 20-dig effort was the lone instance in Division I women’s volleyball this season where a player finished with at least 35 kills and 20 digs. Her matches with 38 and 37 kills remain inside the top 10 nationally for single match kills this season. Louisell also led the Dukes with 35 service aces (0.31 per set) and had 51.0 blocks.

 

Georgia State’s Marta Lazzarin was voted the Sun Belt Volleyball Libero of the Year. The freshman libero finished the regular season ranking fifth nationally in digs per set (5.21) and 18th in total digs (479). Within conference play, she led the league in both digs per set (5.21) and total digs (479). Across the year, she appeared in 27 matches and 99 sets, anchoring the Panthers’ back row with 516 total digs, committing just 16 reception errors, and finishing with a team-best 5.21 digs per set. She added 150 assists (1.52 per set), helping pace the Panthers in assists this season. Lazzarin crossed 25 service aces (0.25 per set) and had season-high of 32 digs against Evansville.

 

        

South Alabama’s Anna Loberg was named the Volleyball Setter of the Year after being named the Preseason Setter of the Year prior to the start of the season. Loberg averaged 8.19 assists per set and picked up 23 aces this season with 47 kills, to go along with 28 total blocks. Her 9.25 assists per set against league foes ranks near the top of the league. Since switching to a 5-1 offense in the series finale at Texas State, Loberg is averaging 9.86 assists per set. Loberg recorded a double-double (37 assists, 10 digs) in the series opener against Southern Miss and followed that with 45 assists, eight dig performance in the series finale. The four Setter of the Week selections are tied for the most by a Jaguar setter in program history. Twice this season, she has totaled 16 assists in a single set. In the matchup with Regular Season Champion James Madison, Loberg recorded 89 assists, nine kills, four aces, 18 digs and four total blocks. Her best outing in the series came in the finale where she tied a career best with six kills, while posting 44 assists, four aces and nine digs. In the series opener with Arkansas State, Loberg had a season-high 46 assists and 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.

 

Outside hitter Cambria Gaier was voted the Sun Belt Volleyball Freshman of the Year. Gaier finished the regular season averaging 3.49 kills per set and 4.11 points per set, ranking seventh and fifth in the league. Against league competition, Gaier is averaging 3.67 kills per set (fourth in the league), and averaging 4.45 points per set (fourth in the SBC). She has recorded four or more kills in a set 52 times (49.1 percent of her sets played), including 13 with six or more. Gaier has twice recorded nine kills in a set, doing so against both Arkansas State and Coastal Carolina, and has had four or more in 38 of her 58 Sun Belt Conference sets played. In South Alabama’s wins this fall, Gaier is averaging 4.32 points per sets and 3.59 kills per set and has a .266 attack percentage. The freshman recorded a career high five aces in a four-set win over Tulane and has had 12 matches with multiple aces this fall. She has recorded 11 or more kills in all but two of her conference matches, just missing double figures in each as she had nine. Gaier posted a then career-best 21 kills, two aces and eight digs in the series opener with the Red Wolves. The Caledonia, Mich., also posted 20 kills in the series opener at Texas State, and in the series versus James Madison, Gaier recorded 35 total kills. Gaier closed out the regular season with a career high 26 kills and 14 digs for her second double-double of the season.

 

James Madison Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher was recognized as the Sun Belt Volleyball Coach of the Year after winning the Sun Belt regular-season championship for the second time in four seasons. Steinbrecher finished with 20 wins for the 10th time in 16 seasons as head coach and led the Dukes to a 13-match win streak during conference play. Following an 11-16 record in 2024, Steinbrecher brought in three transfers and a freshman class of five. Included in the transfer class is Sun Belt Player of the Year Kennedy Louisell (High Point), who broke the JMU single season kills record, finishing with 555 in the regular season. The Dukes have boasted a top 25 offense most of the season with their top three kills leaders coming from newcomers. The Dukes finished the regular season with a 20-8 record and a 13-3 mark in conference play to win the outright title. After starting the season with a 2-4 record, a turning point came on Sept. 14, when the Dukes rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Ball State. Following that win, JMU lost just one match for the following two months.

 

Arkansas State, James Madison and Texas State led the way with five all-conference team selections as they joined six other programs to have multiple honorees. Georgia Southern and South Alabama each had four picks apiece, followed by Coastal Carolina (3), Southern Miss (3), Georgia State (2) and Marshall (2).

 

The 2025 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship begins on Thursday, November 20 in the Foley Events Center in Foley, Ala. for the sixth consecutive year.

 

2025 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Awards

 

Player of the Year

Kennedy Louisell, James Madison

 

Libero of the Year

Marta Lazzarin, Georgia State

 

Setter of the Year

Anna Loberg, South Alabama

 

Freshman of the Year

Cambria Gaier, South Alabama

 

Newcomer of the Year

Kennedy Louisell, James Madison 

 

Coach of the Year 

Lauren Steinbrecher, James Madison

 

All-Sun Belt Conference First Team

Maya Winterhoff, App State

Daedrianna Cail, Arkansas State

Jalyn Stout, Coastal Carolina

Kirsten Barrett, Georgia Southern

Reagan Barth, Georgia Southern

Marta Lazzarin, Georgia State

Kennedy Louisell, James Madison

Anna Loberg, South Alabama

Sadie McAda, Southern Miss

Jade Defraeye, Texas State

Samantha Wunsch, Texas State

Amiah Butler, Troy

 

All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team

Mia Maloney, Arkansas State

Kaitlin Whitlock, Arkansas State

Emily Fowler, Coastal Carolina

Anna Rita, Coastal Carolina

Alex Myers, Georgia Southern

Maria Cecilia de Pinho, Georgia State

Ayen Nhial, James Madison

Cailin Demps, Louisiana

Beatrice Ciccarelli, Marshall

Cambria Gaier, South Alabama

Sarah Gooch, South Alabama

Briana Wilson, South Alabama

 

All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team

Addison Collum, Arkansas State

Erin Madigan, Arkansas State

Maddie Cugino, Georgia Southern

Julia McNeley, James Madison

Addie Norman, James Madison

Ana Toumazatos, James Madison

Emma Barnett, Marshall

Brynn Botkin, Southern Miss

Sunni Sheppard, Southern Miss

Bailey Hanner, Texas State

Nina Moorer, Texas State

Maggie Walsh, Texas State