Southern Nazarene‘s outside hitter Kate Wright took home Player of the Year honors after pacing the conference with 4.38 kills per set. Wright’s 521 kills in 2026 set a SNU program record while currently being the second most in NCAA Division II.
Southeastern Oklahoma State libero Patience Lewis was the Defensive Player of the Year, holding 5.56 digs per set and 595 digs, both of which were second in the conference. Lewis and the Savage Storm won four of their five final GAC matches, including a 3-0 win over then-No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist, to claim the No. 6 seed in the GAC Championships.
Southwestern Oklahoma State‘s Layla Collins was named the GAC Newcomer of the Year as Collins led head coach Josh Collins’ squad with 348 kills – sixth in the conference – to the No. 4 seed.
Harding head coach Meredith Fear rounded out the superlative awards as the league’s Coach of the Year as Fear has her Lady Bisons the No. 2 seed in next week’s Championships. Harding closed the regular season on a league-best nine-match win streak to finish as the conference’s Runner-Up heading into the postseason.
For their performance off the court, seven student-athletes – Addy Anderson, Madison Howard, Haylie Huggins, Kylie Kisgen, Taya McReynolds, Avery Stanfill and Tess de Zanet – were recognized as GAC Elite Scholar Student-Athletes. This honor highlights the GAC athletes who hold 4.0 GPAs with 70 or more hours completed. In addition, 103 student-athletes were chosen for the GAC Volleyball Academic Honor Roll, reserved for sophomore, junior, senior and fifth-year student-athletes with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA.
Oklahoma Baptist paced the conference with two First Team honorees, followed by Southwestern Oklahoma State (1), Ouachita Baptist (1), Arkansas Tech (1), Southeastern Oklahoma State (1), Harding (1) and Southern Nazarene (1). Harding led the way with two Second Team recipients, followed by Oklahoma Baptist (1), Ouachita Baptist (1), East Central (1), Southeastern Oklahoma State (1), Southwestern Oklahoma State (1) and Henderson State (1). Southwestern Oklahoma State landed a league-high five all-conference honorees, followed by Oklahoma Baptist (4), Harding (3), Ouachita Baptist (3), Arkansas Tech (3), Southeastern Oklahoma State (2), Southern Nazarene (2), Northwestern Oklahoma State (2), Henderson State (2), East Central (1) and Southern Arkansas (1).
First Team: Katja Blanchat (SWOSU), Emily Boyer (OKB), Sophie Henry (OUA), Henley Hooks (ATU), Gabby Jones (SE), Rylee Unruh (OKB), Olivia Wiedower (HU), Kate Wright (SNU)
Second Team: Mackenzie Frazee (OKB), Leah Gardner (OUA), Melaina Haines (HU), Addison Iman (ECU), Philomina Klotz (HU), Patience Lewis (SE), Mackenzie Sims (SWOSU), Kaylon Partain (HSU)
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