NEW ORLEANS – In a historic 2023 season for Sun Belt Conference women’s volleyball, the conference sent a league-record four teams to the NCAA Tournament and had six teams compete in postseason action.
Coastal Carolina won both the regular season and tournament championship for the first time since 2017 to earn the league’s automatic bid to the postseason. James Madison, South Alabama and Texas State each earned at-large bids to mark the most NCAA Tournament bound programs in the history of the league. Arkansas State and Georgia Southern each received bids to compete in the NIVC Tournament to give the league six teams in the postseason.
The Chanticleers (22-10) earned the league’s automatic bid to the tournament as they will make their eighth appearance overall and the first since 2017. The 2023 Sun Belt Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions were led by Sun Belt Offensive Player and Player of the Year Jasmine Rivest. She was joined by Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Jalyn Stout, who now holds the NCAA Division I single-season record for triple-doubles with 14. Coastal Carolina matched up with No. 6 seeded Western Kentucky in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Dukes (21-10) earned the No. 7 seed in the upper left quadrant of the bracket and matched up with Baylor in the first round of the tournament. The Dukes finished 22nd in the RPI. They defeated No. 22 Western Kentucky in the regular season, which marked the first win over a ranked opponent in program history. JMU was led by the First Team All-Sun Belt duo of Sophie Davis and Miëtte Veldman. Davis led the Dukes in total blocks (138) and hitting percentage (.355), while Veldman led JMU with 419 kills (3.68 per set) and was second on the team in digs (323). This marked the sixth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Dukes.
The Jaguars (22-10) earned an at-large bid to the tournament as they made their second appearance. South Alabama finished the season ranked 32nd in the RPI. Early in the year, the Jaguars defeated Stephen F. Austin and Clemson with narrow losses to Georgia Tech and Auburn to bolster the non-conference resume. The Jaguars were led by graduate outside hitter Hannah Maddux, who ranked 41st in kills per set (4.02) and 21st in points per set (4.88), and Sun Belt Setter of the Year Kailey Keeble, who ranked 15th nationally in assists per set (10.73). South Alabama matched up with No. 5 seeded Georgia Tech.
The Bobcats (20-10) earned an at-large bid to the tournament and made their 13th appearance in the postseason. Texas State used a rigorous non-conference schedule that featured matchups with 10 top-50 RPI programs. The Bobcats earned a win over No. 13 Houston as well as playing contested matchups with Tennessee and Kansas. They ranked second in the nation in total blocks (312) and fifth in the nation in blocks per set (2.84). Texas State was led by Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year Jade Defraeye, who ranked 45th nationally in total blocks (130) and Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year KJ Johnson, who was a former two-time AVCA All-American. The Bobcats faced No. 7 seeded SMU.
Georgia Southern (23-9) made its first appearance in the NIVC after the first 20-plus win season for the program since 2013. The Eagles defeated both Winthrop and hosts East Carolina in the tournament to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Arkansas State (16-15) made its sixth all-time appearance in the tournament with a 9-10 overall record at the event.
Five Sun Belt volleyball student-athletes earned All-Region Recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as Steve Loeswick from Coastal Carolina was named the Southeast Region Coach of the Year. Loeswick earned Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors after stepping in as the head coach in September to lead the Chanticleers. He led the team to an impressive 14-2 Sun Belt record in league play and won both the 2023 Sun Belt Regular Season trophy and the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. The team finished the year 22-10 after making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
James Madison’s Sophie Davis and Coastal Carolina’s Jasmine Rivest were recognized by the AVCA as Honorable Mention All-America.
Rivest’s AVCA All-American recognition was the first of her career, as the Montreal, Quebec native was the fourth Chanticleer to receive accolades from the AVCA. She was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the year with 18 double-doubles. The outside hitter ranked 14th nationally and leads the SBC with 4.43 kills per set while totaling 492 kills in 111 sets. She is 20th nationally while leading the Sun Belt with 569 points and 5.13 points per set. The redshirt senior leads the Chants with 43 service aces and is third on the team with 310 digs and 61 blocks.
Davis also earned her first AVCA All-American recognition as the fifth-year senior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. became the third Duke to earn national honors. Davis finished the 2023 season with a team-leading 139 blocks (1.19 per set) and recorded 359 kills (3.07 per set), wrapping up her JMU career with the school record in hitting percentage (.372), solo blocks (136), block assists (447), and total blocks (583).
23 Sun Belt volleyball student-athletes received Academic All-District Honors from the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
The formation of the Pro Volleyball Federation in the United States prompted the league’s first collegiate draft. Two notable Sun Belt alumni were selected in James Madison’s Sophie Davis and South Alabama’s Hannah Maddux. Davis was selected 24th overall to the Omaha Supernovas. Maddux was selected 26th overall to the Vegas Thrill. The league is scheduled for its first full season beginning in February of 2024.
The Sun Belt posted three wins over AVCA Top-25 opponents during the season and finished with six teams ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA RPI. Louisiana defeated No. 18 Rice 3-0 in late August. James Madison swept No. 22 Western Kentucky on September 2 as Texas State swept No. 13 Houston on the same day. In the final RPI Rankings, James Madison led the way at No. 22. They were joined by South Alabama (32), Texas State (39), Coastal Carolina (42), Troy (81) and Georgia Southern (86).
The full honors for the year are listed below.
2023 NCAA Tournament Appearances
Coastal Carolina (Automatic Qualifier)
James Madison (At-Large)
South Alabama (At-Large)
Texas State (At-Large)
2023 NIVC Tournament Appearances
Arkansas State (At-Large)
Georgia Southern (At-Large)
2023 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft Picks
Sophie Davis, James Madison – 24th overall to the Omaha Supernovas
Hannah Maddux, South Alabama – 26th overall to the Vegas Thrill
2023 AVCA Division I All-America
Jasmine Rivest, Coastal Carolina – Honorable Mention
Sophie Davis, James Madison – Honorable Mention
2023 AVCA Division I All-Region Selections
Jasmine Rivest, Coastal Carolina – First Team, Southeast Region
Jalyn Stout, Coastal Carolina – Honorable Mention, Southeast Region
Steve Loeswick, Coastal Carolina – Southeast Region Coach of the Year
Sophie Davis, James Madison – First Team, Southeast Region
Hannah Maddux, South Alabama – First Team, Southwest Region
Kailey Keeble, South Alabama – Honorable Mention, Southwest Region
2023 CSC Academic All-District
Lauren Pledger, App State
Kenady Roper, App State
Sophie Cain, App State
Maya Winterhoff*, App State
Tegan Seyring, Arkansas State
Jaydyn Clemmer, James Madison
Elizabeth Helmich, James Madison
Miëtte Veldman, James Madison
Kirsten Barrett*, Georgia Southern
Rebekah Farthing*, Georgia Southern
Jillian Gray*, Georgia Southern
Ashlyn Lovett*, Georgia Southern
Livy Kowalkowski*, Georgia State
Izzy Durnell, Georgia State
Kailey Keeble*, South Alabama
Hannah Maddux*, South Alabama
Paige Lynn, South Alabama
Lillie Simons, South Alabama
Bailey Hanner*, Texas State
Janelle Stuempfig*, Troy
Julia Brooks*, Troy
Amiah Butler, Troy
Jaci Mesa, Troy
*Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members.