CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) announced the 2025 Volleyball All-Conference and special awards winners on Wednesday.
Earning the title of Player of the Year for the third year in a row is
Macy Lentz (Park Hills, Ky.) from Transylvania University. The sophomore had a stellar season with the Pioneers, helping to lead them to an 8-1 conference record. The setter averaged 11.09 assists this season in conference play, leading the league, while averaging 10.15 assists overall - which puts her at No. 16 in the country. Lentz also had an impressive 366 assists while averaging 2.97 digs per set in HCAC play.
On the defensive side, the title of Co-Defensive Player of the Year is awarded to
Lily Ebright (Wichita, Kan.) of the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers and
Madison Bizjak (San Diego, Calif.) of the Earlham Quakers. Picking up the title of Defensive Player of the Year for her fourth time, Ebright led the league in digs per set with a 6.00 average in conference play and a 5.98 average overall, which has her ranked as #7 in the country for digs per set and 10th in the country for total digs with 565. Bizjak, a junior on the No.1 Seed Quakers, currently sits at no. 2 in the league for digs with an average of 5.90 per set in conference play and 5.87 per set overall. She leads the league in total digs with 236 in conference play, while also ranking #2 in the country with 620 digs overall.
The HCAC recognizes an athlete in their first year of athletic competition who stands out, and in a vote of league coaches, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's
Greta Carlson (Austin, Texas) was selected as the Newcomer of the Year. The first year ranked sixth in the league in kills per set at 3.29, while also finding herself ranked 7th in the league in average total points per set in overall play.
After leading the Quakers to a 8-1 record in conference play, Earlham's
Lauren Horton was named the 2025 HCAC Coach of the Year. Horton helped lead Earlham to the No. 1 seed in the 2025 Championship Tournament for the first time since 2021.
Player of the Year: Macy Lentz, Transylvania University
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Lily Ebright, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Madison Bizjak, Earlham College
Newcomer of the Year: Greta Carlson, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Coach of the Year: Lauren Horton, Earlham College
The HCAC also honors an All-Conference First Team and Second Team, as well as a first year team that includes the top players who have first year academic status. The members of those teams are selected by a vote of league coaches and are listed below.
All Conference First Team
| Name |
POS |
Institution |
| Avery Ball |
OH |
Manchester University |
| Madison Bizjak |
L |
Earlham College |
| Caylee Brandes |
RS |
Earlham College |
| Lily Ebright |
L |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Aniyah Harrington |
OH |
Earlham College |
| Morgan Howard |
S/OPP |
Manchester University |
| Macy Lentz |
S |
Transylvania University |
| Abbey McCoy |
OH |
Hanover College |
| Aubrey Miranda |
RS |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Hope Moring |
S/RS |
Franklin College |
| Isabella Myers |
OH |
Transylvania University |
| Addison Piatt |
OH |
Earlham College |
| Emma Sicking |
OH |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Jenna Woods |
OH |
Bluffton University |
All Conference Second Team
| Name |
POS |
Institution |
| Emma Blanton |
OH |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Taylor Bock |
MH |
Anderson University |
| Greta Carlson |
OPP/OH |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Nashaliz Garcia |
MB |
Berea College |
| Hannah Graves |
OH |
Mount St. Joseph University |
| Lilly Kaiser |
MB |
Transylvania University |
| Lauren Kinsey |
MH |
Franklin College |
| Jayda Lanham |
OH |
Anderson University |
| Lily Lichtenbarger |
MB |
Manchester University |
| Elliot Mays |
OPP |
Hanover College |
| Keira Ohse |
MH |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Emma Organ |
L |
Bluffton University |
| Madison Schicker |
L/DS |
Hanover College |
| McKenzie Schroeder |
OPP |
Franklin College |
First-Year Team
| Name |
POS |
Institution |
| Emma Blanton |
OH |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Greta Carlson |
OPP/OH |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
| Kinzee Dean |
MH |
Hanover College |
| Adelyn Figley |
OH |
Manchester University |
| Lauren Kinsey |
MH |
Franklin College |
| Ava Moore |
S |
Mount St. Joseph University |
For more information on HCAC Women's Volleyball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.