Men's Volleyball | 4/16/2026 12:00:00 PM

OXFORD, Ohio- The River States Conference unveiled the award winners for the 2026 men's volleyball season Thursday afternoon, announcing the top performers for the season just over 24 hours ahead of the conference semifinals Friday evening in Campbellsville. The top-seeded Tigers of Campbellsville dominated the awards, taking six of the seven available prizes. However, the top overall award, Player of the Year, went to Campbellsville's opponent on Friday, the Cumberland Phoenix.

Joao Infante of Cumberland University became the first player in RSC history to win any conference award in back-to-back years, as the 2025 Attacker of the Year was named this year's RSC Player of the Year. Infante currently ranks first in the conference in both total kills (457) and kills per set (4.44), serving as the go-to option for the Phoenix. Infante ranks in the top five nationally in both categories, and ranks sixth in the nation in total points accounted for per set at 5.0.

The award for Attacker of the Year went to Campbellsville University's Pedro Zavatini. Zavatini was almost impossible to stop at the net for the Tigers, ending the regular season with a .512 attack percentage, second-best in the nation. The Brazil native, who logged 223 kills for Campbellsville, also ranked in the top ten in the conference with 80 total blocks, averaging nearly one block per set.

One of the nation's top setter, Campbellsville's Alonzo Vega was honored as the Setter of the Year. The 2025 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American ranked third in the nation in assists per set, averaging more than eleven per frame, almost two more than his nearest River States counterpart. Vega is currently one of just two players in the nation with more than 1,000 assists this season. 

Campbellsville also claimed the Defender of the Year award, won by Andrew Ovalle. In a sport predicated on attacks that are almost impossible to dig out, Ovalle has been arguably the nation's best. He ranks third in the nation in total digs, and is the national leader in digs per set at 4.13. Ovalle is one of just two players in the nation with more than four digs per set, and will potentially hit the 400 dig mark in this weekend's RSC Tournament.

The award for the top first-year player went to Campbellsville's Savvas Christou. The freshman from Limassol, Cyprus racked up 248 kills for the Tigers, but has played his best volleyball down the stretch. In the last month, Christou has topped ten kills in seven of the last nine games, all in River States Conference action. 

The Tigers also claimed the two coaching awards, winning both Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year. Head coach Alfonso Alvarez was honored as the Coach of the Year, while Caleb Word earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Alvarez is in his fourth season with the Tigers, and guided the program to its first regular season conference title, with Word serving as his top assistant.

The 2026 River States Conference Tournament began Tuesday night, with third-seeded Oakland City and fifth-seeded Cumberland earning victories. The Phoenix will face top-seeded Campbellsville, the host school, in the first of Friday's semifinals, with the Mighty Oaks facing second-seeded Georgetown in the nightcap. The championship match is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Campbellsville on Saturday.