Loyola volleyball sees five student-athletes earn SSAC All-Conference awards

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Ahead of the SSAC Championship starting on Thursday, the Southern States Athletic Conference announced its 2026 Volleyball Postseason Awards at a banquet Wednesday evening. Five Loyola Wolf Pack student-athletes earned all-conference recognition, while nine were honored in total. 
 

Loyola libero Lola Blancher was voted SSAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Isis Harink was named SSAC Attacker of the Year for the second straight year. Wolf Pack Assistant Coach Paige Shaw was also named the SSAC Co-Assistant Coach of the Year in just her first season with the program. 
 

Joining Blancher and Harink on the SSAC All-Conference First Team are Alexa Palmer and Tyler Alcorn, and Mel Beachnau made the Second Team. Belén Puche Laguna, Ellie Connor, Clarissa Dupree, Zoe Barnes, Palmer, Harink, and Beachnau all made the SSAC All-Academic Team, and Alcorn was Loyola's representative on the SSAC Champions of Character Team. 
    

In her first season as the Wolf Pack libero, Blancher led the SSAC with 536 digs this season, and she ranked second with a 4.79 dig-per-set average. That dig total currently ranks ninth in Loyola's record book for digs in a season, and she has a real shot at being just the eighth Loyola volleyball student-athlete with at least 600 digs in a season. The New Orleans native also has a .962 reception percentage on 634 attempts, and she leads the Wolf Pack with 39 aces this season. Blancher became the first Loyola libero to record 30 or more digs in a match since the 2021 season with 33 digs on Sept. 5 against Stephens College. She recorded 20 or more digs in 11 matches as well.   
 

Blancher became the third Wolf Pack libero since the 2020 season to win the award, joining Simone Moreau (2021 & 2023) and Helene Masone (2020) in exclusive company. 
 

Harink has the most kills and blocks on the team with 271 and 126, respectively, and she is second on the team in kills per set (2.46). She also leads the SSAC in total blocks, and she's third in the league with 1.15 blocks per set. She recorded a season-high 17 kills in the season-finale win over Mobile last Saturday, and she's had at least five blocks in 12 matches this season, including a 10-block match against Xavier on Sept. 12. Harink also has a .294 hitting percentage during the regular season. 
 

The sophomore is now 2-for-2, making an SSAC All-Conference team in her collegiate career after making the First Team and being named the Attacker and Freshman of the Year last season. 
 

Palmer leads the team in kills per set (2.87) and is second on the team in total kills (268) with a .260 hitting percentage. The Gulfport, Mississippi, native recorded double-digit kills in 15 of the 29 matches this season, including a season-high 16 on Sept. 25 against Blue Mountain Christian. Wednesday's recognition was Palmer's third SSAC All-Conference honor of her career after being on the First Team last season and the Second Team during her freshman season in 2023. 
 

Alcorn returned to the floor this season after missing the last two years with two separate season-ending injuries. The Loyola law student ranks second in the league for hit percentage at .321, which would rank seventh in program history for a single season, and she's totaled 136 kills (1.86 per set) and 79 blocks (1.08 per set) in 20 matches and 73 sets played. With 11 matches this season tallying at least seven kills, and eight matches with at least five blocks, Alcorn has been a force at the net since her return to action on Sept. 4. 
 

Beachnau transferred into the program prior to the season, and she's been a welcome addition. She is third on the team in blocks (63) and blocks per set (0.69), and fourth for the Wolf Pack in total kills (179) and kills per set (1.97). After just three matches with 10-plus kills through Oct. 23, the graduate student has recorded double-digit kills in four of the last five matches of the regular season while totaling 15 blocks during that stretch. 
 

Loyola finished the season 21-8 overall with a league-best 14-2 SSAC record under first-year head coach Jenna Ibieta. It'll be the No. 2 seed in the SSAC Championship this week, losing out on the SSAC regular-season title to Mobile by one point (41-40). It was the first year of the SSAC's new point system to determine conference standings. Teams got three points for a three- or four-set wins, and one point for a five-set win. Teams that lost in five sets also picked up a point. 
 

SSAC Volleyball Postseason Awards

Player of the Year: Kaylin Johnson, Mobile
Coach of the Year: Jon Campbell, Mobile
Co-Assistant Coaches of the Year: Paige Shaw, Loyola; Samantha Nichols, UT Southern
Setter of the Year: Emily Martin, William Carey
Attacker of the Year: Isis Harink, Loyola
Defensive Player OTY: Lola Blancher, Loyola
Freshman of the Year: Eva Blatchford, Mobile
Newcomer of the Year: Kaylin Johnson, Mobile
Sportsmanship Award: Blue Mountain Christian    

        
First-Team All-Conference        
Tyler Alcorn, Loyola
Tianna Kynard, Point
Medney Garraux, Life
Marissa Gerleman, Blue Mountain Christian
Lola Blancher, Loyola
Kya Colston, Life
Kaylin Johnson, Mobile
Isis Harink, Loyola
Eva Blatchford, Mobile
Emma Hampton, Mobile
Emily Martin, William Carey
Ashlee Kraft, UT Southern
Alexa Palmer, Loyola
Abigail Williams, Blue Mountain Christian
        

Second-Team All-Conference
Alejandra Villarreal, William Carey
Chloe Painter, Point
Emma McPherson, Mobile
Evelyn Araujo, William Carey
Jelleny Mallozzi, UT Southern
Kennedy Campbell, Xavier
Marley Manning, Point
Mel Beachnau, Loyola
Meloise Aureyre, UT Southern
Patrycja Kabala, Brewton-Parker Christian
Rachel Stegall, William Carey
Riley Deem, Faulkner
Salice Speed, Blue Mountain Christian
Savannah Conklin, Mobile
        

All-Freshman Team        
Eva Blatchford, Mobile
Medney Garraux, Life
Emily Martin, William Carey
Marley Manning, Point
Savannah Conklin, Mobile
Daniela Galarza, Brewton-Parker Christian
Kamryn Williams, Xavier
Charlie Henderson, Xavier
        
Athletic Solutions All-Academic Team        
Danielle Coker, Point    
Reagan Harris, Point    
Jasmyn Ceasar, Point    
Chasity Broadhead, Faulkner    
Riley Deem, Faulkner    
Kynsi Hazzard, Faulkner    
Aubrie Hinson, Faulkner    
Olivia Kelly, Faulkner    
Madison Martin, Faulkner    
Anna Prempramot, Faulkner    
Jakaya Smith, Faulkner    
Caroline Sticker, Faulkner    
Jaylyn Strength, Faulkner    
Jessie Gober, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Taylor Lamontagne, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Amelie Sroka, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Bella Teston, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Bruna Inagaqui, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Adriana De Jesus, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Nicolly Chaves, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Raphaela Felisberto, Brewton-Parker Christian     
Marissa Gerleman, Blue Mountain Christian     
Lillie Pate, Blue Mountain Christian     
Abbi Williams, Blue Mountain Christian     
Meloise Aureyre, UT Southern    
Ashley Cope, UT Southern    
Caitlyn Griffin, UT Southern    
Emma Harding, UT Southern    
Ashlee Kraft, UT Southern    
Alanis Calderon, Life     
Lauren Holcomb, Life     
Lela Parker, Life     
Paola Vega, Life     
Alexa Palmer, Loyola     
Belen Puche, Loyola     
Isis Harink, Loyola     
Ellie Connor, Loyola     
Mel Beachnau, Loyola     
Clarissa Dupree, Loyola     
Zoe Barnes, Loyola     
Laila Jackson, Xavier     
Michaela Clayton, Xavier     
Jordyn Wilks, Mobile    
Kaylin Johnson, Mobile    
Dana Cool, Mobile    
Jolee Ecklund, Mobile    
Bella DiDonna, Mobile    
Lillie Blaylock, Mobile    
Sophie Dorris, Mobile    
Hannah Ellis, Mobile    
Petron Frazier, Mobile    
Emma Hampton, Mobile    
Kathryn Manuel, Mobile    
Emma McPherson, Mobile    
Gabriella Sheffield, Mobile    
Georgia Simmons, Mobile    
Hauket Terrekk, Mobile    
Kendall Thomas, Mobile    
Mia Wilson, Mobile    
Maurin Reyes, William Carey     
Alyssa Portee, William Carey     
Malorie Gaughf, William Carey     
Emerald Owens, William Carey     
Alexis Singletary, William Carey     
Hadley Soutiere, William Carey     
Eduarda Bicalho, William Carey     
Reagan Ziegler, William Carey     
Haley Eckert, William Carey     
Gabby Maceira, William Carey     
Evelyn Araujo, William Carey     
Sofia Bettini, William Carey     
Agnes Hegardt, William Carey     
Charlotte Laborde, William Carey     
Amaya Harris, Wesleyan     
Camryon Redding, Wesleyan     
Hallie Taylor, Wesleyan     
Jamie Adams, Wesleyan     
Jamilet Lozada, Wesleyan     
Julie Siers, Andrew     
Kandace Warren, Andrew     
Na'Laya Singleton, Andrew     
Emily Calhoun, Andrew     
        

Champions of Character Team        
Emily Calhoun, Andrew    
Marissa Gerleman, Blue Mountain Christian    
Amme Mobley, Brewton-Parker Christian    
Kynzi Hazzard, Faulkner    
Mia Goldbach, Life    
Tyler Alcorn, Loyola    
Sophie Dorris, Mobile    
Karin Camacho-Diaz, Point    
Jelleny Mallozzi, UT Southern    
Jami Lozada, Wesleyan    
Evelyn Araujo, William Carey    
Ashley Peoke, Xavier    
 

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