Charlotte, N.C. - The Big South Conference announced its annual volleyball awards as Winthrop garnered nine honors including junior Isabella Murray being named Setter of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon.
 
Murray is a First Team All-Conference selection and is joined on the first team by junior outside hitter Avery Jolley. Senior outside hitter Karli Shepherd was voted Second Team All-Conference while freshman middle blocker Giselle Little earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors. Little was also voted to the All-Freshman Team as she was joined by teammates Sophia Matthews (Libero) and Maeve Rehmann (middle blocker).
 
Murray was voted to the First Team All-Conference for the first time after earning Second Team All-Conference honors in each of her first two seasons. Murray is Winthrop's first ever recipient of the setter of the year since the conference first awarded it in 2021. Murray was a seven-time setter of the week honoree after setting the Eagles to a league-leading 14.69 kills per set and a .239 hitting percentage through conference play. Murray led the conference with 11.60 assists per set through conference play and finished the regular season ranked 18th in the country in assists per set on the season. Murray holds over 50% of the Top 10 spots for most assists in three-set matches on the season, and the top spot for most assists in a four-set match. She also led all setters in blocks per set and was third among setters in digs per set, with 10 double doubles out of 14 conference matches. Murray leads the team in assists with 839 and aces with 17. She also is second on the team in digs with 237 and fourth on the team in blocks with 29. Murray had 18 matches with more than 30 digs, 13 matches in double figures in digs and had 13 matches with a double double. Murray finishes the regular-season with 68 kills, 839 assists, 17 aces, 237 digs and 29 blocks.
 
Jolley, who earned her First Team All-Conference honors for the first time in her career, was also voted the Big South Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. It's the first time an Eagle has earned that honor since Pohai Nu'uhiwa did so in 2007. This season Jolley finished second in the conference in overall kills per set with 3.72. She also finished first on the team in kills with 279, second on the team in aces with 16, third on the team in digs with 224 and fifth on the team in blocks with 23. Jolley was named the Big South Player of the Week for matches played Nov. 4-10 and entered the 500-career dig club at USC Upstate on Nov. 8. She had a career-high in digs with 28 at Charleston Southern on Oct. 12. Jolley had 16 matches in double figures in kills, 10 matches in double figures in digs and eight matches with a double double. Jolley finishes the regular-season with 279 kills, 23 assists, 16 aces, 224 digs and 23 blocks. In addition, Jolley earned a spot on the all-academic team.
 
Shepherd was named Second Team All-Conference for the first time and its her fourth all-conference selection as she was honorable mention as a freshman in 2021 and as a sophomore in 2022. She was named to the All-Freshman team in 2021 and was named to the All-Academic team as a junior in 2023. She was also named a recipient of the 2023 College Sports Communicators All-District Academic Award. This season she finished fifth in the conference in kills per set with 3.14. Shepherd is second on the team in kills with 182, fourth on the team in digs with 139 and fifth on the team in aces with 10. She was named the Big South Player of the Week for matches played Oct. 7-13 and was named to the Bash In The 'Boro Invitational All-Tournament Team. Shepherd entered the 100 career total blocks club vs. Gardner-Webb on Nov. 15. She had a career-high in kills with 17 at Charleston Southern on Oct. 12 and a career-high in digs with 18 vs. Presbyterian on Oct. 26. Shepherd had eight matches in double figures in kills, four matches in double figures in digs and one match with a double double. Shepherd finishes the regular-season with 182 kills, eight assists, 10 aces, 139 digs and 15 blocks.
 
Little took home honorable mention all-conference honors after finishing the regular-season ranked third in the conference in overall hitting percentage with .382. She is also third on the team in blocks with 37, fourth on the team in kills with 127. Little was named the Big South Co-Freshman of the Week for matches played Nov. 4-10. Little surpassed more than 100 career kills at USC Upstate on Nov. 8. She had career-highs in kills with 11 at both Presbyterian on Oct. 11 and Radford on Oct. 18. She also registered a career-high in blocks with seven at USC Upstate on Nov. 8. Little had three matches in double figures in kills. She finishes the regular-season with 127 kills, two assists, 15 digs and 37 blocks.
 
Matthews earned a spot on the all-freshman team after finishing second in the conference in overall digs per set 5.05. She leads the team in digs with 233 and is fourth on the team in aces with 12. Matthews has twice won the Big South Libero of the Week award this season and was named to the Black and Gold Invitational All-Tournament Team. Matthews set the all-time individual record for most digs in a three-set match with 33 vs. Gardner-Webb on Nov. 15. This was also a career-high for her. She had double figures in digs in every match she played this year. Matthews finishes the regular-season with three kills, 49 assists, 12 aces and 333 digs.
 
Rehmann also earned a spot on the all-freshman team after finishing eighth in the conference in overall hitting percentage with .266 and 10th in overall blocks per set with 0.79. She led the team in blocks with 55. Rehmann had career-highs in kills with 10 vs. Virginia Tech on Aug. 30 and Charleston Southern on Oct. 25. She also recorded a career-high in total blocks with seven vs. Radford on Oct. 18 and at USC Upstate on Nov. 8. She had two matches in double figures in kills. Rehmann finishes the regular-season with 102 kills, two assists, four aces, 33 digs and 55 blocks.
 
The Eagles are currently 15-9 overall, 12-2 in the conference and will be the No. 2 seed for the conference tournament this weekend at High Point University. The Eagles will face Friday's winner of third-seeded USC Upstate and sixth-seeded Presbyterian in the second semifinal match on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 6:00 p.m. This is the fourth time in school history (2004, 2006, 2022) that the Eagles have had nine conference honors in one year.
 
2024 Big South Conference Volleyball Award Winners
 
First-Team All-Conference
 
Dylan Maberry, OH, Gr., High Point
Avery Jolley, OH, Jr., Winthrop
Sophie Paspal, MB, Sr., Radford
Isabella Murray, S, R-Jr., Winthrop
Jordyn Schilling, LIB, Jr., High Point
BayLea Sparks, MB, R-Soph., High Point
Kylie Cackovic, OH, R-Soph., UNC Asheville
 
Second-Team All-Conference
Skylar Yates, OH, Jr., Charleston Southern
Kamyla Vega David, S, Fr., USC Upstate
Courtney Williams, OPP, Soph., Presbyterian
Ady O'Grady, MB, Jr., USC Upstate
Molly Littlefield, LIB, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Karli Shepherd, OH, Sr., Winthrop
Savannah Page, RS, Jr., USC Upstate
 
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Giselle Little, MB, Fr., Winthrop
Brenna Rowland, MB, Soph., Charleston Southern
Eve Wilson, OPP, Soph., High Point
Arica Davis, MB, Sr., High Point
Allie Gray, S, Sr., High Point
 
All-Freshman Team
Kamyla Vega David, S, Fr., USC Upstate
Giselle Little, MB, Fr., Winthrop
Sophia Matthews, LIB, Fr., Winthrop
Maeve Rehmann, MB, Fr., Winthrop
Isabel Sandstrum, OH/RS, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Élodie Lalonde, OH, Fr., High Point
Aubrey Hatch, RS, Fr., Radford
 
All-Academic Team
Emily Struckmeyer, Jr., Charleston Southern
Molly Littlefield, Soph., Gardner-Webb
Eve Wilson, Soph., High Point
Anna Baranski, Jr., Presbyterian
Sophie Paspal, Sr., Radford
Albertine van der Goot, Soph., UNC Asheville
Julia Gladhill, Sr., USC Upstate
Avery Jolley, Jr., Winthrop
 
Player of the Year
Dylan Maberry, OH, Gr., High Point
 
Setter of the Year
Isabella Murray, R-Jr., Winthrop
 
Libero of the Year
Jordyn Schilling, Jr., High Point
 
Freshman of the Year
Kamyla Vega David, S, Fr., USC Upstate
 
Newcomer of the Year
Arica Davis, MB, Sr., High Point
 
Coach of the Year
Ryan Meek, High Point
 
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Avery Jolley, Jr., Winthrop