Women's Volleyball

SAA Volleyball Report - Sept. 8, 2025

CANTON, Ga.  – The Southern Athletic Association has announced the Athletes of the Week for week two in the 2025 volleyball season.
 
Around the SAA:
SAA Volleyball Schedule/Results
SAA Volleyball Standings
SAA Volleyball Stats
2025 SAA Volleyball Tournament

Athletes of the Week:

Offense:
Reagan Whatley | Trinity | SR | The Woodlands, TX – Whatley was named the Co-MVP of the Captains Classic Tournament as 12th-ranked Trinity went undefeated over the two-day event that was hosted by Christopher Newport University. Whatley led the team with 47 kills (4.70 per set) and hit .330 on 115 attacks across her 10 sets played. She began the weekend by posting a 20-20 match, finishing with a career-high 21 kills and a season-best 21 digs to average 7.0 per set in both. This weekend marked the first time in Whatley's career that she had 20+ kills, while it was just the fifth time in her career to reach 20+ digs. She also added four aces and six blocks to her weekend to lead the team to the three wins.
 
Defense:
Olivia Wiseman | Rhodes | JR | Lafayette, CA – Olivia Wiseman anchored the Lynx defense with an outstanding weekend, tallying 74 total digs over four matches and averaging 4.93 digs per set. She posted back-to-back standout performances, recording 21 digs in the win over Austin and another 22 digs in the sweep of Webster. Wiseman’s court coverage and quick reads were pivotal in limiting opponent scoring runs, particularly against Hendrix where she added 21 digs to keep Rhodes competitive. She also contributed six service aces and six assists, showcasing her all-around impact. Wiseman’s consistency and defensive leadership allowed the Lynx to extend rallies and transition effectively into their offensive sets, making her a key factor in Rhodes’ success.
 

Notable Performances:
 
Offense
  • Madie Whitehead | Berry | JR | Pearland, TX - A junior from Pearland, Texas Whitehead led the Vikings with 47 kills as they went 2-1 at the UW Whitewater Invite with their only loss coming against the second ranked hosts. In the first game against Elmhurst Whitehead led the Vikings with four blocks and finished with 14 kills in a 3-2 victory. Then in game two against Concordia Wisconsin Whitehead led with 17 kills as the Vikings rolled to a 3-0 win. Finally Whitehead led the Vikings with 16 kills and 16 digs as they dropped a five set thriller to No. 2 UW Whitewater. Whitehead is ranked fourth in kills per set and third in point per set.
  •  Hollye Tate | Centre | SR | Murfreesboro, TN - Hollye Tate had one of the best weeks of her career as an outside hitter as she hit .380 across four games with a combined 34 kills in 12 sets. That performance included a career high 15 kills and a .542 winning percentage to help the Colonels cruise to a 3-0 victory over Stevenson on Sept. 5.
  • Ally Baer | Millsaps | SR | Pace, FL - Millsaps senior volleyball middle hitter and blocker Ally Baer had a tremendous weekend offensively at the Huntingdon College Tournament. She helped the Majors to a 3-1 record by sweeping LaGrange and Piedmont, dispatch Huntingdon 3-1 and narrowly fall to St. Thomas (TX) in five sets. Of the three matches currently with stats, she posted a .271 hitting percentage with 31 total kills, nine digs, six aces, four blocks and two assists.
  • Caroline Short | Rhodes | FR | Brookhaven, GA – Caroline Short delivered a dominant offensive performance across four matches for Rhodes, posting 65 kills while hitting an impressive .307 on 159 total attacks. She averaged 4.33 kills per set, including a weekend-high 22 kills against Hendrix and another 18 kills in the win over Austin College. Short added five service aces and seven total blocks to showcase her versatility at the net. Her efficiency was on full display against Webster, where she recorded 15 kills on just 31 swings for a .387 hitting percentage, leading the Lynx to a straight-set victory. 
  • Anna Ellison | Sewanee | JR | Charlotte, NC – Anna Ellison turned in a career-best performance against Covenant, posting a career-high 13 kills to go along with seven digs. She hit .444 in the match and added three blocks. For the weekend, Ellison totaled 26 kills, nine blocks, and 16 digs.
  • Emily Marks | Southwestern | SR | Cypress, TX – Emily Marks led the Pirates offense over the weekend, recording a combined total of twenty-nine kills (3.22 kills per set), where she posted a .363 hitting percentage for the tournament. Her top performance came against Puget Sound where she racked up fourteen kills on a .565 hitting percentage, also adding four block assists ending the match with sixteen points. Marks weekend performances helped the Pirates go 2-1 and named her to the SU Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
Defense
  • Cali Armstead | Berry | FR | Birmingham, AL – A freshman from Birmingham, Ala. Armstead helped lead the Vikings to a 2-1 weekend with 15 blocks at the UW Whitewater Invite with their loss to the second ranked hosts. In game one Armstead led with four blocks in a 3-2 win over Elmhurst. Then she equaled that in game two with another four blocks in a 3-0 sweep of Concordia Wisconsin. She upped that in the final game against UW Whitewater leading the way with seven blocks in a five-set thriller defeat to one of the best teams in the country. Armstead is second in the SAA with 1.23 blocks per set.
  • Emersyn Pannell | Centre | SO | Leander, TX – Emersyn Pannell was the anchor of a stout Centre defense that won three games this week. The sophomore libero averaged four digs per set, finishing with 48 for the week with a weekly high of 16 in a 3-0 victory over Hanover on Sept. 6.
  • Sandy Bourgeois | Millsaps | JR | Luling, LA – Millsaps junior volleyball libero and defensive specialist Sandy Bourgeois was instrumental in helping the Majors to a 3-1 weekend at the Huntingdon College Tournament. She helped the Majors to a 3-1 record by sweeping LaGrange and Piedmont, dispatch Huntingdon 3-1 and narrowly fall to St. Thomas (TX) in five sets. Of the three matches currently with stats, she posted 62 digs, seven assists and four aces.
  • Izzy Rodriguez | Southwestern | SO | Houston, TX – Sophomore Izzy Rodriguez had another great showing over the weekend at the SU Invitational. Rodriguez racked up sixteen digs against Texas Lutheran, thirteen against Puget Sound, and another thirteen against #16 Illinois Wesleyan for a combined total of forty-two digs (4.6 per set). She also posted seven assists, two service aces and even added a kill to her stat line. Her performances over the weekend named her to the SU Invitational All-Tournament Team.  
  • Jenna Rodriguez | Trinity | SR | San Antonio, TX – Rodriguez was named the Co-MVP as she led the 12th-ranked Trinity volleyball team to a 3-0 record at Christopher Newport University's Captains Classic Tournament over the weekend. Rodriguez finished with 53 total digs (5.3 digs/set) and gave up just one reception error to pace the Tiger defensive effort. She recorded a season-high 23 digs (7.6 digs/set) in the 3-0 win over Bridgewater to finish the tournament, while also tallying 19 digs in a 3-1 win over William Paterson to start the weekend.
 
2025 Volleyball Report Archive (AOW Offense/Defense)
Week One (Sept. 2) – Madie Whitehead/Izzy Rodriguez
 
 
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