FOLEY, Ala. – For the second consecutive year, Texas State’s senior setter Emily DeWalt has been named the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Player of the Year to highlight the 2022 Sun Belt Volleyball Awards and All-Conference Teams, announced on Tuesday. The honors were voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.
James Madison, in its first year in the Sun Belt Conference, claimed the league’s regular-season championship in 2022. The Dukes are 21-4 overall and finished 15-1 in SBC play.
In addition to being named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year for the second year in a row, DeWalt also garnered her fifth consecutive Sun Belt Setter of the Year accolade. She finished the regular season ranked seventh nationally in total assists (1,163) and 17th in assists per set (10.97). She guided a Texas State offense that ranked ninth in the nation in hitting percentage (.289), 13th in assists per set (13.22) and 17th in kills per set (14.08). DeWalt was a seven-time recipient of the Sun Belt Setter of the Year accolade in 2022 and earned the honor 25 times in her collegiate career. She became the Sun Belt’s all-time career assists leader during the course of the season and now has 5,973 career assists. DeWalt finished league play as the only player in the Sun Belt with 700-or-more assists (727) in conference-only matches, while her 11.36 assists per set in conference play led the league. In conference-only matches, DeWalt guided a Bobcat offense to the top spots in hitting percentage (2.28), total kills (922), kills per set (14.41), total assists (868) and assists per set (13.56). The Bobcats finished as the only team in the league with 800-or-more assists (868) and 900-or-more (922) kills thanks in large part to DeWalt running the offense.
Texas State senior outside hitter Janell Fitzgerald claimed her second Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year award. She was the top offensive threat in a Texas State offense that led the Sun Belt in hitting percentage, kills per set and assists per set, both in conference play and overall. Fitzgerald became Texas State’s career leader in kills this season and now has 1,789 career put-downs. In conference matches only, she helped the Bobcats lead the league in hitting percentage (.282), kills (922) and kills per set (14.41). Against league foes, Fitzgerald turned in 261 kills and a 4.08 kills per set average. She finished with double-figure kills in every conference match this season.
James Madison senior middle blocker Sophie Davis was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. She ranks 18th nationally in blocks per set with 1.37 and also is 16th in the nation in hitting percentage with a .414 clip. Both of those numbers lead the Sun Belt Conference (all matches combined). As a team, James Madison is 15th in the nation in blocks per set with 2.67. In conference matches only, Davis led the Sun Belt with 78 total blocks and 1.34 blocks per set. Her .431 hitting percentage in conference matches led the league and she ranked ninth in points per set with 4.47. James Madison was the league’s top blocking team, averaging 2.76 rejections per set against league foes.
South Alabama senior libero Rachel Hickey earned the Sun Belt’s Libero of the Year Award. In conference matches, Hickey ranked fourth in the league with 4.00 digs per set and 248 total digs. She played in all 62 sets of her team’s Sun Belt Conference play and posted a .977 reception percentage on 173 total attempts in league action. Hickey tallied double-digit dig totals in 15 of her team’s 16 Sun Belt Conference matches and 24 of 28 matches overall.
Georgia Southern’s Emily Jarome, a graduate transfer from Towson, was named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, becoming the first player in her school’s history to claim that honor. She averaged 4.07 kills per set in conference play, which ranked seventh in the Sun Belt. Jarome was also eighth in SBC action in points per set with 4.54. She totaled double-figure kills in 13 of her team’s 14 league matches with two 20-plus kill performances against conference opposition. Jarome was a three-time All-CAA selection at Towson before transferring to Georgia Southern.
App State middle blocker Maya Winterhoff secured the league’s Freshman of the Year accolade, becoming the first person in her school’s history to garner that recognition. Winterhoff ranks 38th nationally in hitting percentage with a .374 clip overall. Against Sun Belt opposition, she ranked sixth in hitting percentage at .331. Winterhoff was the only player in the Sun Belt this season to play in every set of her team’s conference schedule. Among Sun Belt freshmen in league-matches only, Winterhoff ranked second in hitting percentage (.331), third in kills per set (2.16), third in service aces (0.34) and third in points per set (2.98).
James Madison head coach Lauren Steinbrecher led James Madison to the Sun Belt Regular-Season Championship in its first season in the conference. The Dukes were 15-1 in league play and a perfect 12-0 against East Division opponents. James Madison is ranked No. 29 in the latest NCAA RPI, the highest mark in program history. At 21-4 overall, the Dukes’ .840 winning percentage is 20th-best in the nation. As a team, James Madison ranks in the top-20 nationally in both blocks per set and hitting percentage.
The 2022 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament will take place Wednesday through Sunday at the Foley Events Center in Foley, Ala.
Tickets may be purchased online in advance here.
2022 Sun Belt Volleyball Awards
Player of the Year: Emily DeWalt, Texas State
Offensive Player of the Year: Janell Fitzgerald, Texas State
Defensive Player of the Year: Sophie Davis, James Madison
Libero of the Year: Rachel Hickey, South Alabama
Setter of the Year: Emily DeWalt, Texas State
Newcomer of the Year: Emily Jarome, Georgia Southern
Freshman of the Year: Maya Winterhoff, App State
Coach of the Year: Lauren Steinbrecher, James Madison
First-Team All-Sun Belt
Ella Saada, Coastal Carolina
Emily Jarome, Georgia Southern
Sophie Davis, James Madison
Miëtte Veldman, James Madison
Myah Conway, Old Dominion
Rachel Hickey, South Alabama
Hannah Maddux, South Alabama
Mia Wesley, Southern Miss
Emily DeWalt, Texas State
Janell Fitzgerald, Texas State
Amara Anderson, Troy
Tori Hester, Troy
Second-Team All-Sun Belt
McCall Denny, App State
Maya Winterhoff, App State
Lina Perugini, Coastal Carolina
Caroline Dozier, James Madison
Cami Hicks, Louisiana
Lydia Montague, Marshall
Niki Capizzi, South Alabama
Kailey Keeble, South Alabama
Cara Atkinson, Southern Miss
Jada Gardner, Texas State
Lauren Teske, Texas State
Julia Brooks, Troy