Greenville University headlines the list of 2023 SLIAC Volleyball All-Conference award winners, taking home three of the league's top individual awards. This marks the second straight season, and third in program history, the Panthers program has received three major awards.
Leading the list of award winners is the 2023 SLIAC Player of the Year, Mia Bonacorsi. A senior outside hitter, Bonacorsi was second in the league with 209 kills, averaging 3.37 per set. She hit .224 against conference opponents and led all SLIAC players with 43 aces. Bonacorsi also added 3.02 digs per set and 25 blocks in conference play. She is the 7th Panther in program history to win the award and second consecutive, joining teammate Chasity Hill.
The SLIAC Coach of the Year award goes to Greenville University head coach Tom Ackerman. Ackerman led the Panthers to the regular season title, going 16-2 in conference play. This marks the third straight outright title for the Panthers and the 6th consecutive year they have taken at least a share of the title. Greenville is currently 21-10 overall and are the top seed in this year's conference tournament. This marks the 7th time in his coaching career he has won the award and the first time he has won in back-to-back years.
This year's Newcomer of the Year is Abby Grohmann from Greenville. The freshman recorded 191 kills and 140 digs this season, hitting .237 against conference opponents; ranking her 8th in the league. She averaged 3.08 kills and 2.26 digs per set. She is the second consecutive Panther to win the award, joining Lainey Hicks, and the 9th in program history.
This year's SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year is from Webster University, Lauren Borik. The graduate student returned this year, making a position switch from outside hitter to defensive specialist. Borik led the league in digs per set at 5.30 and was the only conference play to top 300 digs in conference play. She recorded 14 double digit dig matches in SLIAC play with a high of 35 digs. She is the 8th Gorlok to win the award in program history and the first since Kyra Gensel in 2020-21.
The final individual award is the Team Sportsmanship award, which goes to the program that best exemplifies sportsmanship values. This year's winner is Webster University, marking third time in program history receiving the award and second straight season.
A full list of award winners is listed below:
First Team All-Conference
Malena Bixby, Westminster College
Mia Bonacorsi, Greenville University
Lauren Borik, Webster University
Jayda Branch, Spalding University
Hannah Gallagher, Fontbonne University
Kylie Hasselbacher, Westminster College
Ella Werner-Click, Fontbonne University
Second Team All-Conference
Abby Grohmann, Greenville University
Jordan Harpel, Fontbonne University
Emma Harrop, Fontbonne University
Chasity Hill, Greenville University
Alyssa Jones, Webster University
Kristen Kaempfe, Fontbonne University
Kylee Sabella, Lyon College
Third Team All-Conference
Delaney Demman, Webster University
Lainey Hicks, Greenville University
Kaitlin Murray, Greenville University
Meghan Nolte, Westminster College
Cara Pence, Blackburn College
Olivia Powell, Webster University
Paeton Tucker, Lyon College
All-Sportsmanship Team
Bailey Bennett, Blackburn College
Payton Florine, Eureka College
Amaya Earls, Fontbonne University
Kaitlin Murray, Greenville University
Erin Haigwood, Lyon College
Jamya Fondren, MUW
Sam Borton-Center, Principia College
Erica Jewell, Spalding University
Emma Matteson, Webster University
Kirsten Schrader, Westminster College