Brady, Borum, Slusser, Berkley and Willis Claim Major Awards
 
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Loyola Chicago junior Karlie McNabb was voted the Atlantic 10 Volleyball Player of the Year while her coach Amanda Berkley and sophomore teammate Bree Borum, along with Davidson coach Chris Willis, junior Bella Brady and freshman Emma Slusser all claimed major awards.

Borum was named Setter of the Year, Brady was selected as Libero of the Year and Slusser garnered Rookie of the Year. Berkley and Willis were chosen by their peers as the A-10 Co-Coaches of the Year. The Atlantic 10 announced the five major awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Thursday prior to the start of the 2022 A-10 Volleyball Championship, which begins Friday at Chaifetz Pavilion in St. Louis.

The major awards, All-Conference Teams and All-Rookie Team were voted on by the A-10 head volleyball coaches. The All-Academic team was selected by the volleyball media relations directors.

McNabb, who was also named to the All-Conference First Team, ranked third in the league and led the Ramblers in kills per set (3.20) and points per set (3.74). Her digs per set (2.28) ranked third at Loyola. An outside hitter from Sun Prairie, Wis., she was named A-10 Player of the Week on Oct. 3.

Borum, a setter from Sterling, Ill., was fourth in the Atlantic 10 in assists with 8.09 per set and second in total assists with 946, helping Loyola Chicago rank eighth nationally in team assists. She was named the setter for the All-Conference First Team.

Brady repeats as Libero of the Year, having won the award in 2021 as well. Hailing from Winter Park, Fla., Brady was 15th nationally and led the Atlantic 10 with 5.24 digs per set. She was also named to the All-Conference First Team and was a four-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Week honoree this year.
 
Slusser, an opposite/right side hitter from Cottage Grove, Minn., ranked third at Davidson in kills per set (2.87) and second in total kills (241). A three-time A-10 Rookie of the Week, Slusser was also named to the All-Rookie Team.
 
Berkley led Loyola Chicago to an Atlantic 10 regular season title the Ramblers’ first year in the league. LUC was 17-1 in league play and 23-8 overall and won 14 straight matches against A-10 opponents to open conference play. A native of Racine, Wis., Berkley is in her fourth year at Loyola.
 
Willis earned his second straight A-10 Coach of the Year honor, leading Davidson to an 20-9 overall record and 14-4 in league play. The second-place finish and 14-4 record both represent the best Atlantic 10 season for the Wildcats since they entered the conference in 2014. The St. Louis native is in his 12^th year at the helm of the Wildcats.

Joining Brady, Borum and McNabb on the All-Conference First Team are Anela Davis (Davidson), Lexie Almodovar (Dayton),  Amelia Moore (Dayton), and Qairo Bentley (VCU). The All-Conference Second Team consists of Hailey Poling (Duquesne), Whitley Moody (Fordham), MC Daubendiek (George Washington), Liv Womble (George Washington), Emily Banitt (Loyola Chicago), Taylor Venuto (Loyola Chicago) and Jillian Mattingly (Saint Louis).

The All-Academic team includes Davis, Moore, Venuto, Grace Hinchman (Loyola Chicago), Kate Aupperle (Saint Louis), Mattingly, and Bentley. The All-Rookie team is made up of Jackie Bardin (Davidson), Kayla Davis (Davidson), Slusser, Carsyn Henschen (Duquesne), Audrey Brown (Fordham), Gabreille Gelfound (George Mason) and Irmak Gokcen (Saint Louis).

The 2022 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship begins with two Friday matches between No. 4  George Washington and No. 5 Saint Louis in the first quarterfinal at 2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT and No. 3 Dayton and No. 6 VCU in the second quarterfinal at 4:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm CT. Saturday’s semifinals are also at 2 and 4:30 pm ET / 1 and 3:30 pm CT and will feature No. 1 Loyola Chicago vs. the GW/SLU winner and No. 2 Davidson against the UD/VCU winner. The championship final will be played Sunday at 1:00 pm ET / Noon CT. All five matches of the A-10 championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.