Liberty Volleyball Earns 2 CUSA All-Conference Honors

Liberty senior outside hitter Kate Gammer (first team) and senior middle blocker Madison Blane (second team) were both named to the Conference USA Volleyball All-Conference Team. The postseason CUSA honors, announced this afternoon, were nominated and voted on by the conference's 10 head coaches.

Gammer earned all-conference honors for the second year in a row, after being named to the CUSA second team in 2023. Blane received her third career all-conference award, as she was a CUSA All-Conference first team selection and CUSA Defensive Player of the Year last year. Additionally, Blane was named to the 2022 ASUN All-Conference second team.

Hailing from Encinitas, Calif., Gammer ranks fifth in Conference USA in kills per set overall (3.65) and third in conference matches (3.97), while ranking fifth in points per set both overall (4.12) and in conference contests (4.49). She was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21. Gammer has recorded 11 double-doubles, including nine in conference play. The senior registered 10 straight double-digit kill matches (Sept. 21-Oct. 25) and later had a stretch of five straight double-doubles. In total, she has recorded 22 double-digit kill matches, including two 20-kill contests (both in CUSA play). Her 26 kills against Middle Tennessee on Oct. 19 are tied for the most kills by any Lady Flame in a four-set match in the rally-scoring era. Her 405 kills so far this season are already the most by any Lady Flame in a single season since 2019.

Montgomery, Texas native Blane was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and five times in her career. For the year, Blane leads the CUSA in blocks per set in conference play (1.43) while ranking third overall (28^th nationally) with 1.33 blocks per set. Her 152 blocks are ranked sixth nationally and second all-time on Liberty's single-season, rally-scoring records list. Her 13 blocks against Sam Houston on Nov. 2 set a new Liberty Arena record and tied Liberty's single-match rally-scoring record. She has recorded the two highest single-match block totals by a Conference USA player this season (13 versus Sam Houston, Nov. 2; 12 versus Sam Houston, Nov. 1). Blane has posted five or more blocks 17 times this season, with 11 of those occasions happening in conference play.

Congrats to our two @ConferenceUSA All-Conference players, Kate Gammer and Madison Blane! pic.twitter.com/MjAxed8ylX
— Liberty Volleyball (@LibertyWVB) November 20, 2024

The seventh-seeded Lady Flames (13-17, 7-11 CUSA) will compete against host team, No. 2 seed UTEP (26-4, 16-2) in the CUSA Volleyball Championship quarterfinal on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Mountain) in El Paso, Texas.

2024 CUSA Volleyball
First Team All-Conference
Manu Johnsen, Kennesaw State
Kate Gammer, Liberty
Adri Rhoda, MTSU
Mari Sharp, NM State
Starr Williams, NM State
Ema Uskokovic, UTEP
Kaya Weaver, UTEP
Callie Bauer, WKU
Kenadee Coyle, WKU
Kaylee Cox, WKU
Izzy Van De Wiele, WKU

Second Team All-Conference
Kayla Williams, Jax State
Madison Blane, Liberty
Kiera Booth, MTSU
Laure Jansen, MTSU
Andi Spies, MTSU
Darian Markham, NM State
Hannah Baker, Sam Houston
Kalia Kohler, UTEP
Torrance Lovesee, UTEP
Danika Washington, UTEP
Alivia Skidmore, WKU

All-Freshman Team
Jillian Huckabey, FIU
Rori Gray, LA Tech
Emma Nilson, MTSU
Andi Spies, MTSU
Landry Braziel, UTEP
Lauren Perry, UTEP
Alivia Skidmore, WKU
Faith Young, WKU

Player of the Year
Kaylee Cox, WKU

Setter of the Year
Callie Bauer, WKU

Defensive Player of the Year
Kaya Weaver, UTEP

Libero of the Year
Hannah Baker, Sam Houston

Freshman of the Year
Andi Spies, Middle Tennessee

Coach of the Year
Travis Hudson, WKU

Schedule

Liberty Volleyball Earns 2 CUSA All-Conference Honors

Players Mentioned

Madison Blane

Kate Gammer

Liberty Volleyball Earns 2 CUSA All-Conference Honors

Players Mentioned

Madison Blane

Kate Gammer

Related Videos