St. Louis – The University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team had six players earn All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors and collected three of the five major awards, as announced by the league office on Wednesday evening. The annual awards were presented at a ceremony on the eve of the GLVC Volleyball Championship Tournament.

Junior right-side hitter Alayna Santel was named the GLVC's Player of the Year. It marks the sixth time in the last seven years the Tritons have had the Player of the Year in the conference. Senior libero Skylar Weaver repeated as the Libero of the Year and sophomore setter Marly Burbach was named the inaugural Setter of the Year.

Santel, Weaver and Burbach were three of four UMSL players to earn First Team All-GLVC accolades. Junior outside hitter Maggie Johnson joined Santel, Weaver and Burbach on the first team, while senior middle hitter Brooklyn Young and sophomore outside hitter Bridget Cassady landed on the second team.

Santel joins Charlotte Richards and Caitlin Bishop as the only players in program history to be named Player of the Year by the conference. She is second in the league with 3.82 kills per set and leads the GLVC in service aces per set with an average of 0.51. Santel was named Offensive Player of the Week twice this season and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week back in September. She had a career-high 28 kills and 32.5 points in the 3-1 win over Drury on September 19. Santel was named to the All-GLVC First team for the third time in her career.

Weaver is the first Triton to win Libero of the Year honors twice in their career. She leads the GLVC in digs per set (5.51) and total digs (528) in 49 sets played. Weaver was named the Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and has won it seven times in her career. She had a career-high 38 digs in UMSL's five-set win at Quincy on September 25. It's Weaver's second First Team All-GLVC honor of her career and third overall as she landed on the second team in 2024.

Burbach has directed one of the top offenses in the conference and Midwest Region this season as UMSL is averaging 13.55 kills per set and hitting .248 overall. She leads the conference and Midwest Region in assists per set and is sixth in Division II in that category. Burbach has been named Setter of the Week six times this season. She had a career-high 63 assists in the five-set win at Maryville on October 9. This is her first All-GLVC First Team honor of her career.

Johnson ranks seventh in the league in kills per set with 3.14 and is ninth in points per set at 3.44. She recorded a career-high 25 kills in the reverse sweep at Washburn on September 11 and was rewarded as the Offensive Player of the Week for her performance. For Johnson, its her second First Team All-GLVC accolade in her career.

Cassady ranks fourth in the league in kills per set with 3.29 and is eighth in points per set at 3.45. She had a career-high 27 kills in the season opener at Cedarville on August 28 and has reached double figures in kills 13 times this season. For Cassady it's her first Second Team All-GLVC honor of her career.

Young is averaging 1.77 kills, 0.66 blocks and 2.15 points per set this season. She had a career-high 16 kills in the reverse sweep of Grand Valley State at the Midwest Region Crossover on October 17. Young has recorded double figure kill totals five times this season including three straight matches. For Young it's her first Second Team All-GLVC award of her career.

Senior defensive specialist Reese Baker was also named UMSL's recipient of the GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award. Each of the 14 conference schools chose one student-athlete who has distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside the sports-competition setting. Baker is now eligible to become one of UMSL's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.

The Tritons take on sixth seeded Lewis at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday evening in the last of four quarterfinal round matches at Williamsville High School Fieldhouse in Williamsville, Ill.

A complete list of the 2026 All-GLVC Team and postseason honors can be found below.

Player of the Year: Alayna Santel, Jr., Att., Missouri-St. Louis
Setter of the Year: Marly Burbach, So., S, Missouri-St. Louis
Libero of the Year: Skylar Weaver, Sr., Missouri-St. Louis
Freshman of the Year: Emma Keele, Att., Maryville
Coach of the Year: Haley Case, Indianapolis
 

FIRST TEAM	SECOND TEAM
Jacy Bray, Jr., S, DU	Abby Renshaw, Jr., Att., DU
Skylar Hilton, So., Att., DU	Allison Jansen, Sr., Att., UINDY
Macy Bruton, Sr., L, UINDY	Amaree Haralson, Fr., S, UINDY
Maddie Lynch, Jr., Att., UINDY	Marin Grossman, Jr., Att., LEWIS
Sarah Newberry, Sr., Att., LEWIS	Emma Keele, Fr., Att., MU
Marly Burbach, So., S, UMSL	Mallory Sell, So., L, MU
Maggie Johnson, Jr., Att., UMSL	Bridget Cassady, So., Att., UMSL
Alayna Santel, Jr., Att., UMSL	Brooklyn Young, Sr., Att., UMSL
Skylar Weaver, Sr., L, UMSL	Aysem Kocaalp, Fr., Att., QU
Alyssa McDonald, Sr., Att., RU	Ali Olson, Sr., Att., RU
Delaney Hope, Jr., Att., RU	Molly Trachta, Sr., S, RU
Tori Creason, Sr., S, TSU	Gabriela Dupree, So., Att., SBU
Autumn Erickson, Jr., Att., TSU	Morgan Block, Jr., L, UIU
Laci Neece, Jr., Att., TSU	Grace Fruzen, Jr., S, UIU

 
 
JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD HONOREES
Gracie Kimrey, DU
Makenna Cox, UIS
Addi Eisenmann, UINDY
Olivia Opstad, LEWIS
Delaney Lemay, MU
Lexi Hoffman, MCK
Adelyn Weiler, S&T
Reese Baker, UMSL
Milica Stamenic, QU
Bailey Turner, RU
Allie Hawk, SBU
Skylar Holler, TSU
Alexis Moses, UIU
Allie Vanderbeek, WJC
 
JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD TEAM WINNER
William Jewell