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, scheduled for Nov. 27-30 in Omaha, Neb. Creighton’s Kendra Wait headlines the annual awards, earning both BIG EAST Player of the Year and Setter of the Year accolades for the second consecutive season.

DePaul’s Rachel Krasowski is the BIG EAST Libero of the Year. UConn’s McKenna Brand and Xavier’s Margo Kemp are the BIG EAST Co-Freshmen of the Year. Under the direction of Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Creighton earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the second successive season.

In addition to the major awards, the BIG EAST recognized an 18-person All-Conference team and a six-athlete All-Freshman squad. Creighton led the way with six All-Conference honorees followed by DePaul with four. Marquette and UConn boasted three honorees apiece while St. John’s and Villanova were each represented once.

Creighton’s Wait repeats as BIG EAST Player and Setter of the Year marking the third consecutive season a Bluejay has been recognized as the league’s Player of the Year. The Kansas native led the BIG EAST in assists both in-conference (11.05) and overall (10.99), setting Creighton to a league-leading .371 hitting percentage in-conference and .327 mark overall. A multi-talented competitor, Wait wrapped the regular season averaging 2.98 digs and 0.91 blocks per set. Her efforts translated into the program career double-double record (71), surpassing the previous mark of 65 set in 1997.

On Sep. 24, the senior was recognized as the AVCA National Player of the Week after helping Creighton to back-to-back top ten wins at the Jayhawk Classic, defeating then-No. 6 Purdue (3-1) and No. 10 Kansas (3-0). In mid-November, the Bluejay standout was named one of 14 AVCA National Player of the Year semifinalists. Additionally, the six-time BIG EAST Setter of the Week was selected to the Creighton Classic All-Tournament team and recognized as the Bluejay Invite Most Valuable Player. Wait was a unanimous 2024 All-BIG EAST Preseason selection at the start of this season.

Ahead of the BIG EAST Championship, Wait heard her name called in the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft. The 37^th overall selection will compete in familiar territory, playing for the reigning league champions – the Omaha Supernovas.

DePaul’s Krasowski was lauded as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, making history as the first Blue Demon to earn the accolade, behind a league-leading 4.75 digs per set. Overall, the graduate student totaled 537 digs (4.67/set), complemented by 129 assists and 16 service aces. A member of the 2024 All-BIG EAST Preseason squad, Krasowski also picked up three BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors this season and was named to the San Diego State All-Tournament Team.

UConn’s McKenna Brand was selected as a Co-Freshman of the Year after averaging 4.40 digs per set in her first conference campaign, ranking second among all league competitors. Overall, the libero totaled 431 digs with 84 assists and 25 service aces. She was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 18 and Freshman of the Week on Nov. 11.

Xavier’s Margo Kemp earned Co-Freshman of the Year honors after averaging 2.35 kills, 0.75 blocks, and 0.40 digs per set on .345 hitting throughout the season. Her .345 hitting percentage was the best of any BIG EAST freshman. Kemp was a three-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week and was named to the Bobcat Invitational All-Tournament Team earlier this season.

Under the direction of Bernthal Booth and the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year, Creighton reached new heights, finishing the regular season with a program-best AVCA rank at No. 5. The Bluejays went undefeated in BIG EAST play (18-0) for the just the third time in league history to take their 11^th consecutive, and eighth outright, regular season title. In conference competition, Creighton was the top team in six of seven possible statistical categories, pacing the eleven programs in hitting percentage (.371), opponent hitting percentage (.101), assists (13.63/set), kills (14.79/set), blocks (2.75/set), and service aces (2.32/set).

In her 22^nd season at the helm, Bernthal Booth recorded her 600^th career win in a sweep of Georgetown on Oct. 25. The three-time National Coach of the Year is supported by associate head coaches Angie Oxley Behrens and Brian Rosen, assistant coach Adam Kessenich, and technical coordinator Kaleb Scharman. This season, Kessenich was named to the AVCA’s Thirty Under 30 list.
The Bluejays are represented on the All-BIG EAST squads by unanimous selections Wait, Ava Martin, and Norah Sis. They are joined by teammates Maddy Bilinovic, Elise Goetzinger, and Kiara Reinhardt. Sis, the 2022 BIG EAST Player of the Year, was selected third overall in this year’s PVF draft and will take her talents to the Orlando Valkyries next season.

DePaul’s honorees include unanimous selections Rachel Krasowski and Jill Pressly. The duo is joined by Aly Kindelberger and Audrey Klemp.

Earning accolades for Marquette were unanimous awardees Hattie Bray and Aubrey Hamilton. They are joined by Yadhira Anchante.

Unanimous honoree Doga Kutlu leads UConn’s selections followed by Taylor Pannell and Emma Werkmeister.

St. John’s Erin Jones and Villanova’s Abby Harrell round out the All-Conference squad.
Brand and Kemp headline the All-Freshman team. They are joined by Butler’s Alaleh Tolliver, Creighton’s Jaya Johnson, Georgetown’s Dionna Mitchell (unanimous), and Villanova’s Campbell McKinnon.

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 team or players. Unanimous selections appeared on all ten eligible ballots.

See below for a complete listing of the award winners.

BIG EAST Player of the Year: Kendra Wait, Sr., S, Creighton
BIG EAST Libero of the Year: Rachel Krasowski, Gr., L, DePaul
BIG EAST Setter of the Year: Kendra Wait, Sr., S, Creighton*
BIG EAST Co-Freshmen of the Year: McKenna Brand, Fr., L, UConn & Margo Kemp, RS-Fr., MB, Xavier
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year: Creighton (Kirsten Bernthal Booth)

All-BIG EAST
Doga Kutlu, Sr., S, UConn*
Taylor Pannell, Gr., MB, UConn
Emma Werkmeister, Jr., OH, UConn
Maddy Bilinovic, Sr., L, Creighton
Elise Goetzinger, Sr., MH, Creighton
Ava Martin, Jr., OH, Creighton*
Kiara Reinhardt, Sr., MH, Creighton
Norah Sis, Sr., OH, Creighton*
Kendra Wait, Sr., S, Creighton*
Aly Kindelberger, Sr., MB, DePaul
Audrey Klemp, Gr., RS, DePaul
Rachel Krasowski, Gr., L, DePaul*
Jill Pressly, Gr., OH, DePaul*
Yadhira Anchante, Gr., S, Marquette
Hattie Bray, Sr., MB, Marquette*
Aubrey Hamilton, RS-Sr., OH, Marquette*
Erin Jones, Jr., RS/S, St. John's*
Abby Harrell, So., OH, Villanova

All-Freshman
Alaleh Tolliver, Fr., OH, Butler
McKenna Brand, Fr., L, UConn
Jaya Johnson, RS-Fr., RS, Creighton
Dionna Mitchell, Fr., OH, Georgetown*
Campbell McKinnon, Fr., MB, Villanova
Margo Kemp, RS-Fr., MB, Xavier