CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Atlantic Coast Conference Champion Pitt and Conference Co-Runner up Louisville earned a pair of postseason awards to headline the 2024 ACC Volleyball honors announced Monday. ACC season awards, as well as the All-ACC teams, were determined by a vote of the league’s 18 head coaches.
Pitt right side hitter Olivia Babcock was named the ACC Player of the Year, while Louisville libero Elena Scott was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Stanford’s Kami Miner was tabbed the ACC Setter of the Year, while Louisville’s Nayelis Cabello was voted the ACC Freshman of the Year. Pitt head coach Dan Fisher was named the ACC Coach of the Year.
Babcock was named the 2024 ACC Player of the Year. The Los Angeles, California, native finished out the regular season with 436 kills and a .328 hitting percentage. In 96 matches played, Babcock also recorded 169 digs, 114 total blocks and 66 service aces. Her 66 aces are a program-best in the 25-point scoring era. The sophomore earned the first-ever Freshman of the Year honor in program history for Pitt last season, tallying 420 kills for 3.62 kills per set and a .306 hitting percentage, 159 digs, 125.0 total blocks and 51 services aces. This season, Babcock claimed three ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors and was named a semifinalist for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year award.
Scott was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Scott led the ACC with 4.43 digs per set and totaled 456 digs this season. She added 110 assists and 33 aces to help lead Louisville to its 33rd appearance in the NCAA tournament. The four-time All-ACC honoree has 1,861 digs, 419 assists and 137 aces on her career. Scott was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week three times this season and was named a semifinalist for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year award.
Miner was named the ACC Setter of the Year in the Cardinal’s first season as a conference member. In 98 sets played this season, the Redondo Beach, California, native recorded 1,080 assists, 262 digs, 63 total blocks, 57 kills and 21 aces. Prior to joining the ACC, Miner was named the 2021 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was the two-time Pac-12 Setter of the Year (2022, 2023). Miner was the first active ACC player to pass 5,000 career assists, as she sits at 5,014 total assists since becoming a Cardinal. The Stanford senior was tabbed the ACC Setter of the Week six times this season and was named a semifinalist for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year award.
Cabello was named the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year. In Louisville’s 6-2 offense, Cabello recorded 554 assists and 5.32 assists per set. The Clermont, Florida, native also tallied 162 digs, 15.0 total blocks and 14 service aces. Cabello was named the ACC Freshman of the Week six times this season.
After leading the Panthers to a 29-1 overall and 19-1 conference record, Pitt’s Dan Fisher was named the ACC Volleyball Coach of the Year. In 12 seasons as head coach, the Panthers have garnered six ACC Championships and nine overall NCAA tournament appearances, including four NCAA Elite Eight appearances and three NCAA Final Four appearances. Fisher has an overall career record of 391-70 (.848), a Pitt career record of 316-68 (.822) and a postseason record of 19-8 in the national tournament. Under the guidance of Fisher, the Panthers have clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship for the first time in program history.
Babcock, Scott and Miner were named to the All-ACC First Team while Cabello was named to the All-Freshman team.
Pitt and Stanford each had seven student-athletes on the All-ACC teams, followed by Louisville with five and SMU with four. Fourteen of the league’s 18 teams are represented across the All-ACC teams.
Nine Atlantic Coast Conference volleyball teams earned spots in the 2024 NCAA Championship, as announced Sunday, December 1, on the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN, headlined by Pitt and Louisville both earning a No. 1 seed. Pitt will Louisville will be joined by No. 2 seeds Stanford and SMU, No. 7 seeds Georgia Tech and Florida State, No. 8 seeds North Carolina and Miami and NC State.
The first and second rounds will be played on the campuses of 16 competing institutions. The regionals will be at non-predetermined sites of four competing institutions, with the finals located in Louisville, Kentucky, at the KFC Yum! Center. Here is the championship schedule:
- First and second rounds: Thursday, Dec. 5 through Saturday, Dec. 7
- Regionals: Thursday, Dec. 12 through Sunday, Dec. 15
- Semifinals: Begin at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday, Dec. 19 on ESPN
- National Championship: 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 22 on ABC
Virginia will compete in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NVIC). The Cavaliers (21-10, 11-9) will host the first and second-round matches December 7-8. They have a first-round bye and will play the winner of Game 1 between North Carolina A&T and St. John’s on Sunday, December 8, at 6 p.m. ET.
2024 ACC Volleyball Awards
Player of the Year: Olivia Babcock, Pitt
Defensive Player of the Year: Elena Scott, Louisville
Setter of the Year: Kami Miner, Stanford
Freshman of the Year: Nayelis Cabello, Louisville
Coach of the Year: Dan Fisher, Pitt
All-ACC First Team
Audrey Koenig****, Florida State, Sr., OH
Khori Louis****, Florida State, Sr., MB
Anna DeBeer**, Louisville, Gr., OH
Charitie Luper**, Louisville, Sr., OH
Elena Scott****, Louisville, Sr., L
Flormarie Heredia Colon***, Miami, Jr., OH
Olivia Babcock**, Pitt, So., RS
Rachel Fairbanks***, Pitt, Sr., S
Bre Kelley, Pitt, RJr., MB
Torrey Stafford**, Pitt, So., OH
Celia Cullen, SMU, Fr., S
Naya Shime, SMU, Gr., OPP
Sami Francis, Stanford, Sr., MB
Kami Miner, Stanford, Sr., S
Elia Rubin, Stanford, Jr., OH
*15 on first team due to a tie in voting
All-ACC Second Team
Julia Haggerty, Boston College, Sr., MB
Bianca Bertolino****, Georgia Tech, Sr., OH
Tamara Otene**, Georgia Tech, Sr., OH
Cara Cresse**, Louisville, Sr., MB
Grace Lopez**, Miami, So., OPP
Amanda Rice**, NC State, Sr., OPP
Mabrey Shaffmaster****, North Carolina, Sr., OH
Emmy Klika**, Pitt, Sr., L/DS
Valeria Vazquez Gomez***, Pitt, RSr., OH
Natalie Foster, SMU, Gr., MB
Maya Tabron, SMU, Gr., OH
Jordyn Harvey, Stanford, So., OPP
Ipar Kurt, Stanford, RFr., OH
Elena Oglivie, Stanford, Fifth Yr., L
All-Freshman Team
Neea-Maria Joki, Clemson, OH
Taylor Williams, Duke, OH
Logan Wiley, Georgia Tech, MB
Nayelis Cabello, Louisville, S
Jackie Taylor, North Carolina, MB
Ryla Jones, Pitt, MB
Lizzy Andrew, Stanford, MB
Zoey Dood, Virginia, S
Belle Patrick, Virginia Tech, OH
* denotes number of career All-ACC honors