Blackshear Named ACC Freshman of the Year; Cabello, Chicoine, Cresse Voted First Team

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- University of Louisville opposite Kalyssa Blackshear was voted as Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. Louisville's Nayelis Cabello, Chloe Chicoine and Cara Cresse were voted First Team All-ACC and Payton Petersen and Blackshear were voted to the Second Team.

Pitt right side hitter Olivia Babcock was named the ACC Player of the Year, while Panthers' teammate Bre Kelley was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. SMU's Averi Carlson was tabbed the ACC Setter of the Year joining Blackshear in receiving honors. Stanford head coach Kevin Hambly was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Blackshear was named the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year, marking the second straight year and fourth overall a player from Louisville has earned the award (Nayelis Cabello, 2024). Offensively, Blackshear totaled 305 kills (2.85 kills per set) for a .296 hitting percentage, while on the defensive end, the Lomita, California, native recorded 11.0 total blocks and 57 digs. Blackshear was named the ACC Freshman of the Week three times this season.

Babcock was named the ACC Player of the Year for the second straight season.This season, the Panthers' junior right side hitter claimed five ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors and was named a semifinalist for the 2025 AVCA Division I Player of the Year award, looking to defend her 2024 title.

Kelley was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year just one week after being drafted sixth overall in the first round of the Major League Volleyball (MLV) Draft to the Orlando Valkyries. The redshirt senior out of Rockwall, Texas, leads the ACC in blocks per set with 1.51, while recording 151.0 total blocks and 12 solo blocks on the season.

Carlson was named the ACC Setter of the Year in the Mustangs' second season as a member of the conference. In 113 sets, the senior out of Lucas, Texas, recorded 1,268 assists, sitting third in the nation. Her 11.22 assists per set average leads the ACC and ranks second nationally.

After leading the Cardinal to its first ACC regular-season title, Stanford's Kevin Hambly was named the ACC Volleyball Coach of the Year. Despite being picked to finish third in the annual Preseason ACC Volleyball Coaches Poll in July, Hambly led Stanford to a share of the regular-season crown and a No. 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. In just his second season within the ACC, Hambly is 55-9 with a 35-5 mark in the league. Hambly now has six conference titles as head coach of the Cardinal along with two back-to-back national titles in 2018 and 2019.

Babcock, Kelley and Carlson were named to the All-ACC First Team, while Blackshear was named to the All-ACC Second Team and the All-Freshman team.

Stanford had seven student-athletes named to the All-ACC teams, followed by Louisville with five and SMU and Pitt with four apiece. Stanford leads the All-Freshman team with three selections while Georgia Tech had two. Ten of the league's 18 teams are represented across the All-ACC teams and the All-Freshman team.

Seven ACC volleyball teams earned spots in the 2025 NCAA Championship, as announced Sunday, November 30, on the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN, headlined by Pitt earning a No. 1 seed. Pitt will be joined by No. 2 seeds Louisville, SMU and Stanford, No. 5 seed Miami, Georgia Tech and North Carolina. The first and second rounds of the tournament will begin on Thursday, December 5.

2025 ACC Volleyball Awards
Player of the Year: Olivia Babcock, Pitt
Defensive Player of the Year: Bre Kelley, Pitt
Setter of the Year: Averi Carlson, SMU
Freshman of the Year: Kalyssa Blackshear, Louisville
Coach of the Year: Kevin Hambly, Stanford

All-ACC First Team
Nayelis Cabello, Louisville
Chloe Chicoine, Louisville
Cara Cresse, Louisville
Flormarie Heredia Colon, Miami
Ariana Rodriguez, Miami
Safi Hampton, North Carolina
Morgan Gaerte, Notre Dame
Olivia Babcock, Pitt
Bre Kelley, Pitt
Brooke Mosher, Pitt
Averi Carlson, SMU
Malaya Jones, SMU
Lizzy Andrew, Stanford
Spencer Etzler, Stanford
Elia Rubin, Stanford
*15 on first team due to a tie in voting

All-ACC Second Team
Kyleene Filimaua, Florida State
Iane Henke, Florida State
Bianca Garibaldi, Georgia Tech
Kalyssa Blackshear, Louisville
Payton Petersen, Louisville
Maddy May, North Carolina
Chelsea Thorpe, North Carolina
Blaire Bayless, Pitt
Favor Anyanwu, SMU
Jadyn Livings, SMU
Julia Blyashov, Stanford
Jordyn Harvey, Stanford
Logan Parks, Stanford
Erika Sayer, Stanford

All-Freshman Team
Anna Fiedorowicz, Georgia Tech
Mimi Mambu, Georgia Tech
Kalyssa Blackshear, Louisville
Marina Pezelj, Pitt
Kennedi Rogers, SMU
Spencer Etzler, Stanford
Logan Parks, Stanford
Erika Sayer, Stanford
Reagan Ennist, Virginia

University of Louisville Athletics

Blackshear Named ACC Freshman of the Year; Cabello, Chicoine, Cresse Voted First Team

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Players Mentioned

Kalyssa Blackshear

Nayelis Cabello

Chloe Chicoine

Cara Cresse

Payton Petersen

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