OMAHA, Neb. — Three senior leaders on the Creighton Volleyball team were honored with All-Region acclaim by the American Volleyball Coaches Association on Tuesday. Annalea Maeder, Ava Martin and Kiara Reinhardt  were recognized as the best of the best from the West Region, which consists of 18 teams from the states of Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

 The 213 student-athletes who made All-Region represent 109 different schools.

This year’s awards mark the 11th straight year that Creighton has had two or more student-athletes earn First Team All-Region acclaim, putting the Bluejays in elite company with the likes of Texas (25 straight years), Kentucky (16), Minnesota (16), Nebraska (15), Wisconsin (14) and Pittsburgh (11).

Creighton’s 36 First Team All-Region selections since 2015 ranks 10th-most nationally, trailing only Nebraska (51), Kentucky (49), Texas (48), Minnesota (46), Stanford (46), Pittsburgh (45), Wisconsin (41), Florida (38) and Louisville (38).

Maeder is in her first season at Creighton, but fifth overall in college after four years at Cal. In her lone season with the Bluejays, Maeder has been a seven-time BIG EAST Setter of the Week and leads the league with 10.69 assists per set. The Ried, Switzerland product also ranks fourth in the BIG EAST with 0.41 aces per set and directs a Bluejay offense that hits a league-best .292. Maeder was named All-BIG EAST and named BIG EAST Setter of the Year.

Martin is the BIG EAST’s only player on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, and lived up to the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year hype she was anointed by league coaches before the fall. Martin finished in the top 10 in the BIG EAST in league play in points per set (5.16), kills per set (4.52), aces per set (0.50) and hitting percentage (.376). In her career, she’s fourth in CU history with 1,607 kills and third with 127 aces. The Overland Park, Kan., native was named BIG EAST Tournament MVP and was recently the second pick in the Major League Volleyball Draft. This is Martin’s third straight First Team All-Region accolade, making her just the fifth player in program history to be honored three times or more along with Jaali Winters (2015-18), Kendra Wait (2021-24), Kelli Browning (2012-14) and Norah Sis (2021, 2022, 2024).

Reinhardt is a sixth-year senior who became the winningest player (123) in program history and in position to set a CU single-season record for hitting percentage. She owns 801 career kills, is fourth in program history with 530 blocks and fifth with a .333 hitting percentage. Reinhardt was the eighth pick in the Major League Volleyball Draft from Cedarburg, Wis.

This is the second straight season Creighton has been in the West Region, a change from past years when CU was in the East Region and fought for honors among various teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, America East Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference, BIG EAST Conference, Coastal Athletic Association, Ivy League, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Patriot Leagues, in addition to then-independent Hartford.

No. 11 Creighton (27-5) is in the midst of its 14th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and will travel to the campus of the University of Kentucky later today in anticipation of Thursday’s 12 p.m. Central contest vs. No. 8 Arizona State (28-3) that will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

All-America honors will be announced next Wednesday (Dec. 17) prior to next week’s Final Four in Kansas City.

CENTRAL REGION

Player of the Year: Shaylee Myers, Kansas State University, OH, Sr.

Freshman of the Year: Jovanna Zelenovic, University of Kansas, RS

Coach of the Year: Bobbi Petersen, University of Northern Iowa

EAST COAST REGION

Player of the Year: Olivia Babcock, University of Pittsburgh, RS, Jr.

Freshman of the Year: Reagan Ennist, University of Virginia, OH

Coach of the Year: Dan Fisher, University of Pittsburgh

MIDWEST REGION

Player of the Year: Kenna Wollard, Purdue University, OH, Jr.

Freshman of the Year: Teodora Krickovic, Indiana University, S

Coach of the Year: Dave Shondell, Purdue University

NORTH REGION

Player of the Year: Mimi Colyer, University of Wisconsin, Sr., OH

Freshman of the Year: Ava Poinsett, Yale University, OH

Coach of the Year: Kelly Sheffield, University of Wisconsin

NORTHWEST REGION

Player of the Year:Julia Hanson, University of Minnesota, OH, Sr.

Freshman of the Year: Alanah Clemente, University of Oregon, RS

Coach of the Year: Keegan Cook, University of Minnesota

PACIFIC REGION

Player of the Year: Elia Rubin, Stanford University, OH, Sr.

Freshman of the Year: Logan Parks, Stanford University, S

Coach of the Year: Kevin Hambly, Stanford University

SOUTH REGION

Player of the Year: Eva Hudson, University of Kentucky, OH, Sr.

Freshman of the Year: Kassie O’Brien, University of Kentucky, S

Coach of the Year: Craig Skinner, University of Kentucky

SOUTHEAST REGION

Player of the Year: Flormarie Heredia Colon, University of Miami, OH, Sr.

Freshman of the Year: Lily Hayes, University of Florida, L

Coach of the Year: Heather Gearhart, Winthrop University

SOUTHWEST REGION

Player of the Year: Torrey Stafford, University of Texas, OH, Jr.

Freshman of the Year: Cari Spears, University of Texas, RS

Coach of the Year: Sam Erger, Southern Methodist University

WEST REGION

Player of the Year: Bergen Reilly, University of Nebraska, S, Jr.

Freshman of the Year: Suli Davis, Brigham Young University, OH

Coach of the Year: Dani Busboom Kelly, University of Nebraska

2025 AVCA DIVISION I REGION COACHES OF THE YEAR

The following coaches have been selected as this year’s AVCA Region Coaches of the Year. Each of the honorees can be considered for the AVCA National Coach of the Year, and the awards will be presented at the Coaches Honors Luncheon in Kansas City on Dec. 18, at the 2025 AVCA Convention.

CENTRAL REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Bobbi Petersen, University of Northern Iowa

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 26-6

Petersen was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year for a conference-record, fourth-straight season. She helped UNI win 20 or more matches for the 22nd time in her 26-year career, and the squad gave her a 13th MVC regular-season championship and a third-consecutive undefeated conference season.

EAST COAST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Dan Fisher, University of Pittsburgh

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 28-4

Pittsburgh has been a force again this season under Fisher, who is in his 13th season on the sidelines for the Panthers. Fisher guided his 2025 squad to the school’s fourth-straight ACC title, and they are 28-4 heading into the regional round of this year’s NCAA Championship. He picked up his 400th win as a head collegiate coach in early September.

MIDWEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Dave Shondell, Purdue University

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 26-6

The 24-year coaching veteran is enjoying another very successful season. In addition to notching career coaching win No. 500, he weathered losing a number of key transfers and kept Purdue playing at an elite level in 2025. Among his squad’s many accomplishments, they have recorded nine wins over ranked teams so far this season.

NORTH REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Kelly Sheffield, University of Wisconsin

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 26-4

Another year, another stellar season for Sheffield and the Badgers. The veteran coach’s team is finding its stride at the right time, as they rolled through the early rounds of the 2025 NCAA Championship with a pair of sweeps and head into this week’s regional on an 11-match win streak. Early this season, he earned his 600th career coaching victory.

NORTHWEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Keegan Cook, University of Minnesota

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 24-9

Cook has done a lot of impressive things in his career, but the fact that his team is in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Championship is remarkable. His Gophers, who began the season ranked 12th, lost four starters to season-ending injuries early in the year. The team persevered, stayed in the poll all season, and got sixth in the Big Ten.

PACIFIC REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Kevin Hambly, Stanford University

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 29-4

Despite losing a number of key players from last season, Hambly and the Cardinal have enjoyed a very successful campaign so far in 2025. His ninth season at Stanford included an Atlantic Coast Conference title and another NCAA Championship Sweet Sixteen appearance. Late this season, he earned his 400th career coaching victory.

SOUTH REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Craig Skinner, University of Kentucky

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 27-2

Skinner more than earned his second-consecutive Region Coach of the Year award, as his team has taken no prisoners in 2025. They enter the Sweet 16 on a 24-match winning streak and ran the table in the Southeastern Conference, earning both the regular-season title—the school’s ninth in a row—and SEC Tournament championship.

SOUTHEAST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Heather Gearhart, Winthrop University

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 18-7

Gearhart made her third season as the head coach at Winthrop a memorable one. She helped the Eagles take home the 2025 Big South Conference regular-season title, after they went 12-2 in league play and closed the regular-season with a 10-match winning streak. The team had five players on the 2025 All-Big South teams.

SOUTHWEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Sam Erger, Southern Methodist University

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 27-5

Erger and the Mustangs have solidified their place in the upper echelon of Division I volleyball in 2025. The fourth-year SMU coach has her team is in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history. In the NCAA Championship second-round sweep of Florida over the weekend, she picked up her 100th career win at SMU.

WEST REGION COACH OF THE YEAR

Dani Busboom Kelly, University of Nebraska

2025 Record (as of Dec. 9): 32-0

Replacing a legend is never easy, but Busboom Kelly has proven that she’s up to the challenge in her first year as head coach at Nebraska. Her 2025 team has made history with a 30-0 regular-season record and 20-0 mark in Big Ten play. How dominant have the Huskers been? They enter the Sweet 16 having dropped only seven sets this season.