ATLANTA, Ga. (November 8, 2023) – SAA Champion Berry led the way with six selections, including both offensive and defensive players of the year, to highlight the 2023 All-SAA Volleyball teams. Conference runner-up Centre took newcomer and coach of the year awards to go along with four All-SAA honorees.
Berry’s Bella Boston earned Offensive Player of the Year honors while teammate Kate Whittle repeated as Defensive Player of the Year. Centre’s Syd Bietz was honored as the Newcomer of the Year and the Colonels Patrick Robidoux was voted Coach of the Year.
Bella Boston (Junior / Newnan, Ga.) was twice voted as SAA Offensive Athlete of the Week during her standout junior campaign. She hit .266 on the season to rank fifth in the conference while sitting fourth with 2.94 kills per set. Boston averaged 3.54 points per set, the fourth best mark in the league, and ranked fourth in blocks with 75. She had a monster game against Millsaps, logging 22 kills in three sets.
Kate Whittle (Junior / Louisville, Ky.) landed on the All-SAA First Team and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. Four times this year Whittle was voted as Defensive Athlete of the Week. The junior led the SAA in digs with 515, averaging 5.20 per game. She holds the top-three individual performances this season, tallying 29 digs against Millsaps, 26 against top-ranked Juniata and 23 against Sewanee, all in three sets. Whittle posted a season-high 31 digs against Hendrix.
Syd Bietz (First Year / Versailles, Ky.) gives Centre two-straight SAA Newcomers of the Year, joining last year’s winner Ally Knueven. Bietz enjoyed a breakout campaign, sitting second in the SAA with 2.42 kills per set and third in the league with 3.56 points per set. The first year rolled up 31 kills against Sewanee and also had a 24-kills night against Wittenberg. Her 74 total attempts against Sewanee was the top mark in the SAA.
Patrick Robidoux is in his fifth season leading Centre program and has improved the Colonels wins total each year. In 2023 he led Centre to a runner-up finish in the SAA and 20-8 record, the Colonel’s winningest season in the last decade. Other than two close losses to Berry, Centre swept through the rest of its conference slate this year. Robidoux mentored four All-SAA honorees this season, including the last two SAA Newcomers of the Year.
2023 SAA Volleyball All-Conference Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Bella Boston, Berry
Defensive Player of the Year – Kate Whittle, Berry
Newcomer of the Year – Syd Bietz, Centre
Coach of the Year – Patrick Robidoux, Centre
First Team All-SAA
Madi Barron, Centre
Syd Bietz, Centre
Bella Boston, Berry
Yzzi Dsamou, Rhodes
Emily Gardner, Centre
Jazzy Innis, Berry
Olivia Mallow, Berry
Jacqueline Weller, Sewanee
Kate Whittle, Berry
Second Team All-SAA
Adele Cassidy, Sewanee
Emily Goddin, Centre
Oliva Jones, Sewanee
Brenna Macaluso, Millsaps
Lindsey MacDiarmid, Berry
Camryn Presley, Hendrix
Margaret Richardson, Millsaps
Cate Rosenthal, Oglethorpe
Ainsley Schultz, Birmingham-Southern
Kylie Wilhelmi, Birmingham-Southern
Honorable Mention
Laurel Burkhardt, Sewanee
Anna Capezzera, Millsaps
Rachel Clarke, Rhodes
Sam Friedl, Hendrix
Kyler Greenlee, Hendrix
Maggie Mathis, Rhodes
Lura Underwood, Berry