AVCA All-Region Teams | D2CCA All-Region teams

Wingate, N.C.----The AVCA and D2CCA both announced the region awards Wednesday afternoon, with the SAC regular season and tournament champion Bulldogs piling up the honors. Sydney Morland is the AVCA and D2CCA Region Player of the Year, while Lauren Tekavec is the AVCA Region Coach of the Year. Morland is an AVCA and D2CCA first team All-Region honoree. Maddie Hoffman, Gabby Saye and Maya Van Heyst earn AVCA first team honors and D2CCA second team accolades, while Emily Johnson is also an AVCA first team selection. Wingate and Adelphi are the only two teams in the country with five All-Region honorees.

Morland sweeps Region Player of the Year accolades for the second straight season. She gives the Bulldogs a Region Player of the Year for the fourth straight year, with Maggie Young taking home D2CCA Region Player of the Year honors in 2023 and Shannon Kasprak sweeping the AVCA and D2CCA awards in 2022. Morland is the eighth Bulldog to be named the Region Player of the Year by the D2CCA or AVCA.

Morland has had a historic season for the SAC champs. The back-to-back SAC Player of the Year is the only player in all of NCAA Division I or II volleyball that is averaging over three kills per set while hitting over .400. She is also the active career leader in D2 volleyball with her .401 career hitting percentage. Morland is averaging 3.45 kills per set while hitting .414 on the year, adding 0.98 blocks per set. She ranks in the top three in the SAC in hitting percentage, kills per set and blocks per set. Morland ranks fifth in the nation in hitting percentage. Morland earned SAC Player of the Week honors twice this year. She has piled up 286 kills against just 43 errors in 587 swings this year.

Morland has registered double-digit kills 14 times this year, hitting over .360 in 12 of those contests. She has hit over .500 in six of those matches. Morland hit .372 with 18 kills against Lewis, while piling up 19 kills in 28 swings against Francis Marion to hit .643. She hit .382 with 16 kills at Catawba, while hitting .600 with 12 kills against Tusculum. Morland hit .529 with nine kills and no errors against Carson-Newman, while piling up 15 kills in 26 swings against LMU to hit .538. She hit .632 with 13 kills against Emory & Henry and piled up 15 kills with a .394 hitting percentage against Anderson. Morland hit .632 with 12 kills and no errors in the sweep at Anderson, while piling up 15 kills without an error in 21 swings against Coker in the SAC quarters, hitting .714.

Tekavec is the Region Coach of the Year for the second straight season. The third-year head coach led the Bulldogs to the SAC regular season and tournament titles in dominant fashion, going 28-1 overall and 18-0 in the SAC, riding a 27-match into the NCAA Southeast Regionals, which the 'Dogs will host for the fourth straight year. Wingate has swept 23 of its 29 matches this year, including all three SAC Tourney contests. The Bulldogs rank second in the nation in winning percentage and assists per, while ranking third in digs per set and opponents' hitting percentage. The Bulldogs are fourth in kills per set and ninth in hitting percentage. Wingate is the only school in the country to rank in the top 10 nationally in hitting percentage and opponents' hitting percentage. Tekavec is 87-8 through her first three years as the head coach, going 52-2 in league play while capturing three regular season SAC titles, two tourney titles and a region championship.

Hoffman is an All-Region honoree for the second straight season. The first team All-SAC libero was also an AVCA honorable mention All-American in 2024. Hoffman leads the SAC and ranks 30th in the nation with 0.51 aces per set, while ranking second in the SAC and 23rd nationally with 5.24 digs per set. She also leads all liberos in the conference with 138 assists. Hoffman anchors a WU defense that ranks third in the nation in digs per set and opponents' hitting percentage. She earned four SAC Defensive Player of the Week honors this year. Hoffman has piled up double-digit digs in 27 of 29 matches. She had 22 digs in the season-opening sweep, while picking up 24 digs against Lewis and 21 in the Aiken sweep. Hoffman piled up 22 digs, seven assists and three aces against LMU, followed by a 20-dig effort against Lenoir-Rhyne and 21-dig performance in the UVA Wise sweep. She had 20 digs, five assists and two aces in the Catawba sweep, while piling up 25 digs and six assists against Anderson. Hoffman had 19 digs, three assists and five aces against Coker, while piling up 10 digs, seven aces and six assists against Carson-Newman. She had 15 digs, five assists and three aces at Newberry, followed by her 33-dig performance in the Tusculum sweep, adding eight assists. Hoffman piled up 17 digs, six assists and an ace in the SAC title match, earning All-Tournament honors.

Van Heyst is an All-Region selection for the second straight season. The first team All-SAC setter was named the SAC Tournament MVP. Van Heyst was an AVCA third team All-American in 2024. She earned SAC Player of the Week accolades three times this year. The junior leads the SAC and ranks 16th in the nation with 10.82 assists per set, adding 3.08 digs per set to go along with 159 kills, 33 aces and 29 blocks. She runs a WU offense that ranks second in the nation in assists per set, fourth in kills per set and ninth in hitting percentage. She has also helped the 'Dogs rank third nationally in digs per set and opponents' hitting percentage. Van Heyst has piled up 16 double-doubles and a triple-double on the year, while coming within one kill of a triple-double on four other occasions. She had 36 assists, 16 digs and nine kills against Lewis, while piling up 44 assists in the FMU sweep. Van Heyst had 31 assists, 12 digs, six kills and three aces in the Eckerd sweep, while piling up 36 assists, 16 digs and four kills in the UNCP sweep. She followed with 37 assists, 12 digs and five kills at Catawba while piling up 32 assists, 14 digs and nine kills at Carson-Newman. Van Heyst had 41 assists, 13 digs, nine kills and two blocks against LMU, while piling up 53 assists, 10 digs, eight kills and five aces against Anderson. Van Heyst notched 39 assists, 10 kills, eight digs and two aces against Newberry, followed by a 39-assist, 12-dig, five-kill and two-block effort at Tusculum. She compiled 35 assists, nine kills, six digs and a block against Coker in the SAC Tourney quarterfinals. Van Heyst piled up 31 assists, 21 digs and 10 kills in the SAC semis, while notching 36 assists, 10 digs and six kills in the title match.

Saye is an All-Region selection for the third consecutive year. The three-time All-SAC honoree earned AVCA honorable mention All-American accolades each of the last two years. The senior is second on the team with her 2.67 kills per set, hitting .345 on the year while adding 61 blocks and 62 digs. Saye ranks fourth in the conference in hitting percentage. Her career .331 hitting percentage is good for 20th among all active D2 players. She went over 1,000 career kills earlier this season. She has seven matches with at least 10 kills this year, while notching at least eight kills 19 times. Saye hit .478 with 12 kills in the season opener, while hitting .478 with 13 kills at UNCP. She hit .571 and .529 in back-to-back sweeps against Tusculum and Coker, notching nine kills in each match. Saye hit .526 with 10 kills and six blocks against Catawba, while hitting .500 with 13 kills and three blocks against Emory & Henry. She hit .409 with 10 kills in the Anderson victory, while hitting .345 with 12 kills and five blocks at Tusculum. Saye had 10 kills with a .381 hitting percentage in the sweep at Anderson, while collecting eight kills in the SAC Tourney quarterfinal win over Coker, hitting .375. She hit .364 with nine kills in the SAC title match.

Johnson is an All-Region honoree for the fourth straight season. The 2022 Region Freshman of the Year is a three-time first team All-SAC selection, while earning All-American recognition each of her first three seasons at Wingate. Johnson ranks fifth in all of D2 volleyball with her .362 career hitting percentage. The senior averages 2.64 kills and 0.85 blocks per set, adding 84 digs and 33 aces. Johnson is third in the SAC in hitting percentage, eighth in aces and 10th in blocks. She ranks 18th nationally in hitting percentage. Johnson has 20 matches with seven or more kills, while hitting .333 or better 16 times this year. She had seven kills and seven blocks against Francis Marion, while hitting .538 with seven kills against Eckerd. Johnson had eight kills, five blocks, four digs and two aces against Catawba, while hitting .375 with 13 kills and three blocks against UVA Wise. Johnson hit .765 with 13 kills, three blocks and three aces in the Emory & Henry sweep. She hit .346 with 11 kills and five digs at Mars Hill, followed by notching seven kills and four blocks at Coker, hitting .500. Johnson hit .619 with 13 kills against Newberry, followed by a 15-kill effort at Tusculum, hitting .652. Johnson hit .476 with 11 kills and eight digs in the SAC semifinal sweep against Carson-Newman.