OXFORD, Ohio- The River States Conference unveiled the award winners for the 2026 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 west-central Indiana. IU Kokomo's Mya Grigsby was the big winner as Player and Attacker of the Year, while five schools total were honored in the seven awards.
Mya Grigbsy, the 2024 RSC Player and Freshman of the Year, adds to her impressive resume with the 2026 Player and Attacker of the Year awards. The 2024 All-American had the best season of her career, leading the conference in kills (473) and kills per set (4.59). The Greenfield, Indiana is among the most feared attackers in all of NAIA volleyball, ranking sixth in the nation in kills and kills per set. She is one of just three players in the nation with more than 400 kills and an attack percentage above .275.
Rio Grande's Lydia Steyer continued the tradition of standout setters at Rio Grande, winning the conference's Setter of the Year award. Steyer led the RedStorm attack with 1,065 assists during her first season as URG's full-time setter. Her assist total tops the River States Conference, and ranks in the top 15 nationally. She was just as active on the defensive side of the net, finishing her junior season with 55 total blocks and 237 digs.
SMWC's perfect regular season was due in no small part to libero Gaby Fernandez, who was honored as the league's Defender of the Year. In her first season on campus, Fernandez racked up 575 digs, and averaged 6.39 digs per set. Her digs per set total leads all of NAIA volleyball, with the Puerto Rico native the only player in the NAIA to average more than six digs per set. In fact, Fernandez is just one of seven players anywhere in four-year college volleyball to hit that mark.
IU Columbus' Kilani Jackson played a major role in getting IU Columbus to the RSC's final site for the first time in program history, and earned RSC Freshman of the Year honors for her efforts. The Brownsburg, Indiana native racked up 166 kills during her first season of college volleyball, and did so efficiently with a .221 attack percentage. In conference play, she hit .275, averaging more than two kills per set.
In her sixth season leading the Pomeroys, Ashley Harris was honored by her peers as the 2026 RSC Coach of the Year. Harris led SMWC to an undefeated mark of 13-0 in conference play, a West Division title, and the program's first-ever guaranteed trip to the NAIA Tournament. 2026 will be the Pomeroys' fifth straight season with 25 or more overall wins, as well as their fifth straight season with 10 or more RSC wins.
The conference's head coaches selected WVU Tech's Ron Martin as the 2026 RSC Assistant Coach of the Year. Martin is in his second year as assistant coach for WVU Tech, following more than two decades as a local high school coach. Martin, a veteran of the United States Coast Guard, Army, and Navy, is also a local high school referee, working for the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission for nearly two decades.
The 2026 River States Conference Tournament continues Friday, as the top four seeds gather in Vigo County, Indiana for the semifinals on the SMWC campus. Second-seeded IU Kokomo will battle third-seeded Rio Grande in the opener at 4:00 p.m. The nightcap, between top-seeded St. Mary-of-the-Woods and fifth-seeded IU Columbus, is slated for 7:00 p.m. Saturday's championship game, also played on the SMWC campus, is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.