OXFORD, Ohio- The River States Conference unveiled the award winners for the 2025 women's volleyball season Thursday afternoon, announcing the top performers for the season just over 24 hours ahead of the conference semifinals Friday evening in Kokomo. St. Mary-of-the-Woods' Karla Melendez was honored as the top player in the conference, while IU Kokomo led all schools with three overall award winners. IU East followed with two, with Rio Grande claiming one.
SMWC's Karla Melendez earned the league's top prize as the 2025 RSC Player of the Year. The Puerto Rico native led all RSC players with 3.92 kills per set, entering the conference semifinals with 380 kills on the season. She was even more potent in conference play, averaging 4.11 kills per set during SMWC's 12-4 regular season. She was also efficient from the serving line, and is one of just four players in the league to average more than 0.5 service aces per set.
After starting her career as the 2022 Freshman of the Year, IU Kokomo's Lexi Broyles finishes as the 2025 Attacker of the Year. Broyles was a force at the net for the Cougars, who went unbeaten in RSC play. The senior led the conference in hitting percentage at .373, and ranked second in blocks per set with 0.87. Broyles will conclude her IU Kokomo career as the rare player to earn four consecutive First Team All-Conference selections.
Rio Grande setter Elle McLoughlin is the only player in the conference to repeat, winning her second straight RSC Setter of the Year award. The senior was the RSC leader in assists per set, racking up 1,046 assists in 33 matches and averaging 9.18 assists per set. McLoughlin was also a dangerous presence at the net for the RedStorm, ranking seventh in the conference and first among setters with 0.82 blocks per set.
The RSC's Defender of the Year award went to IU East's Ella Bickel. Bickel was sensational on the back line for the East Division champions, leading the conference in both total digs (704) and digs per set (5.46). She averaged 6.56 digs per set in conference play, also tops in the conference. The Fort Wayne, Indiana native is currently the only player in the nation with more than 700 digs, and ranks in the top 15 nationally in digs per set.
Another Red Wolf, Noema Philistin-Lynch, was honored as the RSC Freshman of the Year. In her first year of collegiate volleyball, the Carmel, Indiana native led IU East in kills, ranking fourth in the league at 3.28 kills per set and first in the RSC with 403 total kills. She became the focal point of the IU East attack, and finished the season with more swings (1,124) than any conference player.
The West Division champions from IU Kokomo swept the coaching awards, with Heather Hayes earning Coach of the Year honors and Sarah Morin picking up Assistant Coach of the Year recognition. The award is the sixth of Hayes' career with the Cougars, and the first for Morin, who joined the program in April. Morin played four years for Hayes from 2017-2020, and spent four years on the bench at the University of Indianapolis before returning to Kokomo.
The 2025 River States Conference Tournament continues Friday, as the top four seeds gather in Kokomo for the semifinals. Second-seeded St. Mary-of-the-Woods and third-seeded Rio Grande, both seeking their first-ever trip to the NAIA Tournament, will battle at 4:00 p.m. The nightcap will feature top-seeded IU Kokomo hosting fourth-seeded IU Southeast. The winners will meet for the conference title Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.