Courtesy: Tim Tushla
Courtesy: Tim Tushla

2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball All-Americans and Special Awards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball All-America Teams as well as the 2023 NAIA Player of the Year, Attacker of the Year, Defender of the Year and Coach of the Year have been announced.

The 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Player and Attacker of the Year is Eva Joldersma of Indiana Wesleyan. Joldersma posted a season-high of 25 kills against Marian (Ind.) and matched it again in the championship match against Northwestern (Iowa). The sophomore ended the season with a total of 585 kills and averaged 4.64 kills per set while nearly recording a .300 attack percentage with a final percentage of .294. The outside hitter ranks second in the nation in points per set at 5.3.

The 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Setter of the Year is Abbigail Porter of Indiana Wesleyan. Porter received two NAIA Setter of the Week awards this season. The setter ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in assists, totaling 1,548 assists on the season. The sophomore set a season-high of 58 assists in the championship match against Northwestern (Iowa).

The 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Defender of the Year is Ellie Holen of Jamestown (N.D.). Holen repeats as defender of the year and surpassed her previous season digs total by 25 digs for a total of 887 while raising her average to 6.39 digs per set. The libero set a season-high of 47 digs during the regular season against Our Lady of the Lake (Texas).

The 2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year is Candace Moats of Indiana Wesleyan. Moats led her team to an undefeated season (38-0) while winning the Crossroads League regular season and tournament championship en route to the program's first red banner. In her 22nd year as a head coach, Moats nears 1,000 wins with a coaching record of 984-369.  

Concordia (Neb.) and Viterbo (Wis.) boast the most All-Americans with three players garnering All-America recognition.

The NAIA All-America teams are selected by the NAIA-VCA Executive Committee during the NAIA Championship. The pool of candidates comes from the All-Conference/CAC teams.

 

2023 NAIA Women’s Volleyball All-America Teams (Alphabetical order by institution)

FIRST TEAM

NAME INSTITUTION POSITION CLASS HOMETOWN
Bree Burtwistle Concordia (Neb.) S Sr Stanton, Neb.
Rylee Troutman * Corban (Ore.) OH Jr Powell Butte, Ore.
Ady Dwight * % Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) MB Sr Langford, S.D.
Eva Joldersma Indiana Wesleyan OH So Hudsonville, Mich.
Abbigail Porter Indiana Wesleyan S So Winona Lake, Ind.
Jessica Swimm IU East (Ind.) OH Jr Hagerstown, Ind.
Ellie Holen ^ Jamestown (N.D.) L Sr LaMoure, N.D.
Hannah Caddow ^ Life Pacific (Calif.) OH Gr Valencia, Calif.
Sara Klunder * > Missouri Baptist MB Sr Hudson, Iowa
Jazlin De Haan Northwestern (Iowa) OH Jr Orange City, Iowa
Evelyn Rohrberg Oklahoma Wesleyan OH Fr Charata Chaco, Argentina
Radaisy Valdez Ottawa (Kan.) MB Jr Bani, Dominican Republic
Hannah Stadstad Southern Oregon OPP Jr Albany, Ore.
Kenzie Winker ^ ~ Viterbo (Wis.) OH Sr Holmen, Wis.

 

SECOND TEAM

NAME INSTITUTION POSITION CLASS HOMETOWN
Maddy Payne > Bethel (Ind.) MB Sr Wakarusa, Ind.
Callie Henson # ~ Central Methodist (Mo.) OPP Sr Jefferson City, Mo.
Luisa Ferreira ^ > ! Columbia (Mo.) S Sr Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Kira Rymer-Attaway * CIU (S.C.) OPP Sr China Grove, N.C.
Camryn Opfer ^ Concordia (Neb.) OH Sr Seward, Neb.
Ella Maiden Milligan (Tenn.) MB Jr Damascus, Va.
Gabi Jakubowska Missouri Baptist OPP So Katowice, Poland
Alysen Dexter # Northwestern (Iowa) OH Jr Urbandale, Iowa
Arianna Marino Park (Mo.) S Fr Pinerolo, Italy
Alexcis Morris Saint Katherine (Calif.) MB Sr Menifee, Calif.
Morgan Cole Vanguard (Calif.) OH So Bakersfield, Calif.
Jada Mitchell Viterbo (Wis.) MB So New Albin, Iowa
Grace Rohde Viterbo (Wis.) OH Jr Winona, Minn.
Kennedy Wade # Xavier (La.) OH Sr Gainesville, Fla.

 

THIRD TEAM

NAME INSTITUTION POSITION CLASS HOMETOWN
Kealy Kiviniemi Bellevue (Neb.) Opp So Bellevue, Neb.
Gigi Sasso Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) OH Gr Porto Alegre, Brazil
Kamryn Willman College of Saint Mary (Neb.) MB Sr Grand Island, Neb.
Gabi Nordaker ^ Concordia (Neb.) OH Jr Omaha, Neb.
Allyson Grava Cumberlands (Ky,) OH Sr Goodlettsville, Tenn.
Sade Williams Eastern Oregon OH Sr Idaho Falls, Idaho
Adriana Bravo Florida College OH Sr Caracas, Venezuela
Noelle VanOort Indiana Tech OH Jr Mantorville, Minn.
Lexi Broyles # IU Kokomo (Ind.) MB So DeMotte, Ind.
Aleah Zieske Jamestown (N.D.) OH Jr Spicer, Minn.
Brooklynn Slater Keiser (Fla.) OH So Las Vegas, Nev.
Olivia Muir Montana Tech OH Sr Smoot, Wy.
Sydney Collins Oklahoma Wesleyan S So Bartlesville, Okla.
Debora Bernardi # Park (Mo.) MB Sr Ponta Grossa, Brazil
Mackenzie Grafton St. Ambrose (Iowa) OH Sr Orion, Ill.
Zyaire Prettie Garrit Talladega (Ala.) OH Sr Long Beach, Calif.
Andrea Malek # Texas Wesleyan (Texas) L Sr Euless, Texas
Sadie Hansen Valley City (N.D.) S Jr Oakes, N.D.

 

Previous All-American Key
* 2022 1st team
^ 2022 2nd team
# 2022 3rd team
% 2021 1st team
~ 2021 3rd team
> 2020 3rd team
! 2019 2nd team
% 2019 3rd team

Championship Information

NAIA Women's Volleyball Championship

44th ANNUAL VOLLEYBALL
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
November 29 - December 5, 2023
Tyson Events Center
Sioux City, Iowa

Opening Round
November 18, 2023
 Campus Sites