Sun Belt Regular-Season Champs Rake in Conference Postseason Honors

JONESBORO, Ark. (20/11/24) – After winning its first regular-season Sun Belt Conference title since 2016, the Arkansas State volleyball team fittingly collected a plethora of postseason Sun Belt Conference honors on Wednesday.

Head coach Brian Gerwig (Coach of the Year), Daedrianna Cail (Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year) and Sarah Martinez (Libero of the Year) led the postseason awards.

Cail and Martinez earned First Team All-SBC laurels, while Kaitlin Whitlock received second-team honors. Wednesday’s announcement marks the first time the A-State had three or more all-conference picks since 2017.

Gerwig became A-State’s first Conference Coach of the Year since David Rehr in 2016. He guided the Scarlet and Black to the league crown after the Red Wolves were picked sixth in the West Division. Under his watch, A-State won its most regular-season games (24) since 2015, as well as a 14-2 conference record – its best since 2016.

One of the most feared middle blockers in the conference, Cail is the program’s first SBC Newcomer of the Year since 1997 (Tera Hayman) and first Defensive Player of the Year since 2016 (Markie Schaedig). The Marion, Ark., native leads the league in solo blocks (25) and ranks third in total blocks (130). In league play, Cail led all blockers with 88 blocks and 19 solos.

A three-time SBC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, Martinez is A-State’s first SBC Libero of the Year since 2021 (Tatum Ticknor). She anchors A-State’s best defense in the league with 512 total digs, which is second in the conference. In conference games, the Flower Mound, Texas, native was second in digs (317), averaging 4.88 per. set. Behind the service line, Martinez was second on the squad with 29 aces, including 15 in conference play.

Whitlock secured a second-team all-league nod after totaling 344 team kills – sixth most in the conference – with 18 matches of 10 kills or more. The San Antonio, Texas, native also had 351 digs (3.22/set) and tallied 21 double-digit digs as part of 14 double-doubles. She also served 27 aces and totaled 48 blocks.

NEXT UP

Top-seeded Arkansas State opens the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Friday against either West No. 5 seed Southern Miss or East No. 4 seed Coastal Carolina. The first serve in the quarter-final match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. in Foley, Ala., and the game will be shown on ESPN+.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Fans can follow the team on Twitter (@ASTateVB) and Instagram (astatevb) along with liking the Arkansas State Red Wolves Volleyball page on Facebook for the latest team news and updates.

2024 SUN BELT VOLLEYBALL AWARDS

Player of the Year: Tori Hester, Troy

Offensive Player of the Year: Tori Hester, Troy

Defensive Player of the Year: Daedrianna CailArkansas State

Libero of the Year: Sarah MartinezArkansas State

Setter of the Year: Ryann Torres, Texas State

Newcomer of the Year: Daedrianna CailArkansas State

Rookie of the Year: Elise Marchal, App State

Coach of the Year: Brian GerwigArkansas State

First-Team All-Sun belt
Maya Winterhoff, App State

Daedrianna CailArkansas State

Sarah MartinezArkansas State
Jalyn Stout, Coastal Carolina
Reagan Barth, Georgia Southern
Brenya Reid, James Madison
Abryanna Cannon, South Alabama
Anna Loberg, South Alabama
Jade Defraeye, Texas State
Ryann Torres, Texas State
Samanatha Wunsch, Texas State
Tori Hester, Troy

Second team All-Sun belt
Addison Heidemann, App State
Ava Leahy, App State
Elise Marchal, App State

Kaitlin WhitlockArkansas State
Ashlyn Lovett, Georgia Southern
Kirsten Barrett, Georgia Southern
Annie Smith, James Madison
Cami Hicks, Louisiana
Mio Yamamoto, Louisiana
Myah Conway, Old Dominion
Sarah Gooch, South Alabama
Sunni Sheppard, Southern Miss