Top Flight Full Listing

NEW ORLEANS – Four Sun Belt Conference beach volleyball pairs have been honored as 2025 Top Flight award winners by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
 
UNCW had two pairs recognized, including senior Gracie Sistrunk and junior Lyvia Trimp in flight two, while juniors Gabby LaPata and Sarah Thompson received recognition in flight one.
 
Georgia State and Mercer each had one pair earn the distinction in flight four, as Panthers’ sophomore Michaela Jefferson and freshman Danica Singleton were honored along with the Bears’ senior tandem of Kathryn Corbett and Nicole O’Mara.
 
An All-Sun Belt First Team pair, LaPata and Thompson went 22-9 on the season with all their results coming as UNCW’s No. 1 pairing. The duo produced a 12-match winning streak spanning Feb. 28 through March 22. Individually, the honor is the second for LaPata, who also accomplished the feat in the first flight in 2024 alongside Sadie Sharkey.
 
The 2025 Sun Belt Pair of the Year, Sistrunk and Trimp closed the season with an incredible 30-1 overall record at the No. 2 spot in the lineup and closed the season with a 25-match winning streak, including a 5-0 mark during the Seahawks’ run to the Sun Belt Championship final. Sistrunk and Trimp compiled an 18-0 mark against conference foes.
 
An All-Sun Belt Second Team pairing, Jefferson and Singleton compiled a 24-11 overall record, including a 15-5 mark as the No. 4 pair, including a 4-0 record during the Panthers’ third straight Sun Belt tournament title.
 
Also an All-Sun Belt Second Team duo, Corbett and O’Mara produced a team-leading 29-7 overall record as Mercer’s No. 4 pairing which included 24 wins in straight sets. The tandem produced three different win streaks of at least five matches, including a season-long 11-straight victories between Feb. 21 and March 7.
 
Now in its seventh year, the Top Flight program recognizes beach pairs who compete in at least 15 matches together at a specific flight and win at least 75 percent of their matches. This year, 88 pairs representing 45 schools—from all three NCAA divisions, NAIA and Two-Year Colleges—earned Top Flight status.
 
2025 AVCA Top Flights
Flight 1: Gabby LaPata/Sarah Thompson, UNCW
Flight 2: Gracie Sistrunk/Lyvia Trimp, UNCW
Flight 4: Danica Singleton/Michaela Jefferson, Georgia State
Flight 4: Kathryn Corbett/Nicole O’Mara, Mercer