NEW YORK –  The BIG EAST Conference announced its annual volleyball all-conference and major award winners Tuesday, preceding the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship presented by JEEP, which will take place Nov. 22-25 in Milwaukee, Wis. Creighton’s Kendra Wait headlines the annual awards, earning BIG EAST Player of the Year and Setter of the Year recognitions. Butler’s Jaymeson Kinley is honored as BIG EAST Libero of the Year for the third consecutive season. Villanova’s Abby Harrell is the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Creighton’s Kirsten Bernthal Booth and St. John’s Joanne Persico represent the Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year.

Along with the major awards, the BIG EAST announced an 18-person All-BIG EAST team and seven-person All-Freshman team. Sixteen of the 18 All-BIG EAST honorees, and three All-Freshman awardees, will compete in the BIG EAST Championship, beginning on Wednesday at Marquette’s Al McGuire Center. All six BIG EAST Championship teams – Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, St. John’s, Villanova and Xavier – were represented on the All-BIG EAST Team. 

The BIG EAST Player of the Year hails from Bernthal Booth’s roster for the second season in a row. Also earning Setter of the Year accolades, junior Kendra Wait led the BIG EAST in assists through both conference (10.14/set) and overall matches (10.26) while setting Creighton to a league-best 0.313 hitting. Additionally, the Gardner, Kansas native averaged 3.40 digs, 1.07 kills, and 0.77 blocks in conference play. This season, Wait collected two BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors in addition to a Defensive Player of the Week nod. She was named to the All-Tournament teams at both the Bluejay Invite and Minnesota Tournament. Wait is the first Bluejay to be voted BIG EAST Setter of the Year.

For the third consecutive season, Butler’s Kinley is the BIG EAST Libero of the Year. The redshirt senior averaged 4.83 digs per set against conference opponents, good for second in the league. Overall, she registered a league-best 550 digs for 4.91 per set. Kinley surpassed 2,000 career digs this season in addition to contributing 129 assists. The Lexington, Ky., product joins fellow three-time honorees Tess Fournier (Seton Hall; 2014-16) and Lena Yee (St. John’s; 2006-08). The three-time All-Conference honoree is the only Bulldog in program history to earn multiple major awards.

A five-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week, Villanova’s Harrell is the 2023 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. She is the first Wildcat to win the award since 1996. The outside hitter led all BIG EAST freshman, and ranked sixth overall, with 3.29 kills and 3.28 points against conference competition. Hailing from Ellensburg, Wash., Harrell produced 382 kills overall (7^th; 3.32/set), 440.5 points (7^th, 3.83/set), and 38 aces (9^th, 0.33). During non-conference play she was named to the Catholic Challenge All-Tournament team.

Creighton’s Bernthal Booth and St. John’s Persico lead the Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year. Bernthal Booth earns her fourth recognition after coaching Creighton to the top spot in the BIG EAST Championship (25-4, 16-2) and tenth consecutive BIG EAST regular season title. Following a successful conference campaign, the Bluejays rank first in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.313), opponent hitting percentage (.115), kills (820, 14.39/set) and assists (754, 13.23/set). Notable results this season included a sweep of then-No. 16 Purdue (8/26), a 3-2 win at then-No. 8 Minnesota (9/16), and an essential 3-0 victory over then-No. 25 Marquette (11/5). Of Creighton’s 16 conference victories, 15 came by way of sweep. In her 21^st season at the helm, the three-time National Coach of the Year is supported by assistant coach Angie Oxley Behrens, assistant coaches Brian Rosen and Adam Kessenich, and technical coordinator Kaleb Scharman.

A fixture of BIG EAST Volleyball, Persico heads the Co-Coaching Staff of the Year in her 30^th season. The third-seeded Red Storm (21-9, 13-5) proved to be conference contenders from the first match, defeating Ole Miss, 3-1 (8/25), for the program’s first ever win over an SEC opponent. Persico’s squad went undefeated at the Kaiser Classic, defeating Siena (3-1), Stony Brook (3-0), and Loyola (3-0) at Carnesecca Arena. On October 14, Persico coached sophomore Erin Jones to the first triple-double in program history during a 3-2 victory over Marquette. This season, St. John’s led the league in blocks (147, 2.38/set). The winningest active head coach in BIG EAST volleyball is joined by associate head coach Bryan Weber and assistant coach Ryan Cole.

First and second-seeded Creighton and Marquette lead the All-Conference team with four honorees a piece. The Bluejays boast Wait alongside sophomore outside hitter Ava Martin, senior middle blocker Kiana Schmitt, and junior outside hitter Norah Sis. Wait and Martin are unanimous selections. Both Wait and Sis earn their third All-Conference accolade in as many years. Martin, the 2022 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, and Schmitt collect their second honors.

The Golden Eagles are headlined by senior outside Hitter Aubrey Hamilton. The unanimous selection appears on her second all-conference team. She is joined by 2022 Setter of the Year Yadhira Anchante, junior middle blocker Hattie Bray, and senior middle blocker Carsen Murray, all of whom record their second regular season recognitions.

Third-seeded St. John’s is represented by sophomore setter/right-side Erin Jones (unanimous) and sophomore outside hitter Lucrezia Lodi. Last year, Lodi was named to the All-Freshman squad.

The fourth-seeded Xavier Musketeers also roster a pair of All-BIG EAST athletes in graduate setter Carrigan O’Reilly and senior middle blocker Delaney Hogan. O’Reilly has earned a spot on the All-Conference squad four consecutive seasons. A unanimous selection, Hogan also collects her third straight honor after representing Xavier as Freshman of the Year in 2021.

Fifth-seeded DePaul travels to Milwaukee with All-Conference selections Jill Pressly (Sr., OH) and Rachel Krasowski (Sr., L). Pressly, a unanimous selection, earns her third accolade after leading the BIG EAST in kills (4.59/set) and points (5.17). She was the only competitor this season to average more than four kills and over five points per set. Krasowski collects the first all-conference award of her career.

Sixth-seeded Villanova rounds out Championship competitors with Harrell and senior middle blocker Kiera Booth. Harrell is the only freshman to earn a spot on the All-Conference team. Booth is a two-time selection (2022).

Georgetown graduate right-side Peyton Wilhite completes the All-BIG EAST squad.

The All-Freshman team is comprised of seven athletes, expanded from six due to a tie in voting, hailing from six separate programs. Harrell headlines the group alongside unanimous selection Rashanny Solano Smith (St. John’s, L/DS). Georgetown, the only program to boast two honorees, is represented by middle blocker Kamryn Lee-Caracci and setter Emily Wen. Elise Ward (Butler, OH), Destiny Ndam-Simpson (Creighton, OH/R-S), and Lyric Berry (Providence, MB) complete the group.
 
The 2023 BIG EAST regular season awards are listed below. All-Conference and All-Freshman teams appear in alphabetical order by team name, last name. An asterisk denotes a unanimous selection.
 
The All-BIG EAST team, All-Freshman team and major awards were voted upon by the league’s 11 head coaches. Coaches could not cast ballots for their own team or players. Unanimous selections appeared on all ten eligible ballots.
 
2023 BIG EAST Volleyball Regular Season Awards
 BIG EAST Player of the Year: Kendra Wait, Creighton, Jr., S
BIG EAST Libero of the Year: Jaymeson Kinley, Butler, RS Sr., L/DS               
BIG EAST Setter of the Year: Kendra Wait, Creighton, Jr., S
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year: Abby Harrell, Villanova Fr., OH
BIG EAST Co-Coaching Staffs of the Year: Creighton (Kirsten Bernthal Booth) & St. John's (Joanne Persico)

 All-BIG EAST
Jaymeson Kinley, Butler, RS Sr., L/DS*             
Kendra Wait, Creighton, Jr., S*                         
Ava Martin, Creighton, So., OH*
Kiana Schmitt, Creighton, Sr., MB
Norah Sis, Creighton, Jr., OH
Jill Pressly, DePaul, Sr., OH*
Rachel Krasowski, DePaul Sr., L  
Peyton Wilhite, Georgetown, Gr., R-S
Aubrey Hamilton, Marquette, Sr., OH*
Yadhira Anchante, Marquette, Jr., S
Hattie Bray, Marquette, Jr., MB
Carsen Murray, Marquette, Sr., MB    
Erin Jones, St. John's, So., S/R-S*
Lucrezia Lodi, St. John's, So., OH                  
Kiera Booth, Villanova, Sr., MB                         
Abby Harrell, Villanova Fr., OH
Carrigan O’Reilly, Xavier, Gr., S/R-S                  
Delaney Hogan, Xavier, Sr., MB*

All-Freshman^
Elise Ward, Butler, Fr., OH
Destiny Ndam-Simpson, Creighton, Fr., OH/RS
Kamryn Lee-Caracci, Georgetown, Fr., MB
Emily Wen, Georgetown, Fr., S
Lyric Berry, Providence, Fr., MB
Rashanny Solano Smith, St. John's, Fr., L/DS*
Abby Harrell, Villanova, Fr., OH

*Unanimous selection
^Denotes a tie in voting