Women's Volleyball | 11/12/2026 1:00:00 PM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2026 Women’s Volleyball All-Conference awards on Thursday, November 12. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
Senior Kaylene Noble of St. John Fisher University was named the Player of the Year for the second time, while sophomore Emma Curry of Russell Sage College was named the Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year, and Gillian Dickerson of Alfred University was named Rookie of the Year. St. John Fisher head coach Kelly Greapentrog and her staff were named the 2026 E8 Coaching Staff of the Year.
Noble, who was also named the Empire 8 Player and Rooke of the Year in 2023, leads a strong St. John Fisher offense that is among the Division III leaders with 1,368 kills. Noble has slammed 341 kills to go along with a team-best 287 digs, 30 blocks and 24 service aces. She hit .286 in league play with 129 kills (3.69 per set) and 113 digs (3.23 per set). Noble has recorded at least 10 kills in 20 matches this season, including 11 double-doubles. She has 1,434 career kills, which is 21st all-time in Empire 8 history. Noble is the sixth different two-time E8 Player of the Year and first since former St. John Fisher AleaSteigerwald, who was a five-time E8 Player of the Year from 2017 to 2021.
Curry finished second among all student-athletes in the Empire 8 with 544 digs and 4.90 digs per set in 2026, while leading all of Division III with 100 service aces (0.87 per set – third nationally). She was even better in Empire 8 play, averaging 5.25 digs per set and was second with 0.77 service aces per set. Curry recorded at least 10 digs in 29 of 30 matches, including She dished out a career-high and Empire 8 single-match record 13 service aces in a five-set win over SUNY Cobleskill on Sept. 23 and had three different matches with 31 digs. Curry is the second E8 Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year in Russell Sage program history, joining Elena Moisidis, who was honored in 2022.
Dickerson, a setter, enjoyed an excellent debut season for the Saxons, having dished out 585 assists to go along with 210 digs and 44 service aces. In league play, Dickerson averaged 7.94 assists per set, third most in the E8, to go along with 89 digs (2.54 per set) and 20 aces. Dickerson recorded at least 30 assists in a match nine times and finished with seven double-doubles on the season. Dickerson was a four-time E8 Rookie of the Week and is the third Rookie of the Year in Alfred program history, joining Amber Smith (2016) and Casey Grange (2022).
St. John Fisher head coach Kelly Greapentrog and assistant coaches Laura Thiele, Rachel Holmes, and Lindsey DeBonis were honored as the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year. St. John Fisher won the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship and is the No. 1 seed in the E8 Tournament after finishing 11-0 in league play this season. The Cardinals enter the Empire 8 Championship match having won 16 consecutive matches and are 23-6 overall, Five Cardinals earned All-Empire 8 honors this season, headlined by Noble, a two-time Player of the Year. It is the sixth E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honor for St. John Fisher with Greapentrog as head coach since 2019.
Noble garnered All-E8 first team accolades for the third time in four seasons, while teammates Kalyna Dannenberg and Lydia Fraser, Alexa Belanger of Houghton University and Leah Fusilli of Nazareth University all earned their second All-E8 first team accolades. Cory Elder of SUNY Geneseo, Lucille Walker of Hartwick College, Curry and Zofia Keogh of St. John Fisher were also named All-E8 first team members.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2026 Women's Volleyball Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
2026 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Kaylene Noble, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Emma Curry, So., L/DS, Russell Sage
Rookie of the Year: Gillian Dickerson, Fr., S, Alfred
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by head coach Kelly Greapentrog
Empire 8 First Team
Cory Elder, Sr., MB, SUNY Geneseo (Rochester, NY/Brighton)
Lucille Walker, Jr., MB, Hartwick (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca)
Alexa Belanger, Jr., OH, Houghton (Ballston Spa, NY/ Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake)
Leah Fusilli, Sr., OH, Nazareth (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Emma Curry, So., L/DS, Russell Sage (Goodyear, AZ/Estrella Foothills)
Kalyna Dannenberg, So., OH, St. John Fisher (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Lydia Fraser, Jr., OH, St. John Fisher (Plymouth, MI/Father Gabriel Richard)
Zofia Keogh, Jr., S, St. John Fisher (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie)
Kaylene Noble, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher (Fayetteville, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Empire 8 Second Team
Gillian Dickerson, Fr., S, Alfred (Frisco, TX/Wakeland)
Carleigh Santavy, Jr., OPP, Alfred (Commerce, MI/Walled Lake Northern)
Kaylee Dickerson-Holly, Jr., OH, SUNY Brockport (Trumansburg, NY/Charles O. Dickerson)
Kathryn Barba, Jr., OH, SUNY Geneseo (Huntington, NY/Huntington)
Dyllan Thomas, Fr., MB, Geneseo (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs)
Isabella Gracias, Sr., RS/MH, Hartwick (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta)
Petra Thomas, Fr., MB, Houghton (Banding, Indonesia, Gyeonggi Suwon International)
Ana Gutman, Sr., MB, St. John Fisher (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Megan Wright, Sr., L/DS, Utica (Clay Center, KS/Clay Center Community)
Empire 8 Third Team
Kaitlyn Jewett, Jr., S, SUNY Brockport (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Elsie Logan, Sr., L/DS, SUNY Brockport (Tonawanda Seneca Nation, NY/Akron)
Zooey Gagnier, Sr., L/DS, SUNY Geneseo (Penfield, NY/Penfield)
Thylia Keoviengsamay, So., S, Hartwick (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy)
Morgan Brace, Sr., S, Houghton (Bliss, NY/Letchworth)
Nina Scott, Sr., OH, Keuka (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima)
Alana Lucey, Jr., MH, Nazareth (Fairport, NY/Fairport)
Paige Kemmer, So., OH Russell Sage (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville)
Trinity Bailey, Sr., OH, Utica (West Winfield, NY/Mt. Markham)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Madalynn McGowan, Sr., L/DS, Alfred (Corona, CA/Norco)
Kaylee Dickerson-Holly, Jr., OH, SUNY Brockport (Trumansburg, NY/Charles O. Dickerson)
Julie Smith, Jr., L/DS, Elmira (Johnsonville, NY/Tamarac)
Peyton Cole, Sr., OPP, SUNY Geneseo (Lowville, NY/Lowville Academy)
Malia Dake, Jr., L/DS, Hartwick (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls)
Jessica Prentice, Sr., RS, Houghton (Houghton, NY/Houghton Academy)
Lilah Cousins, Sr., RS, Keuka (Denver, CO/Westminster)
Anna Malbone, Sr., S, Nazareth (Wayne, NY/Wayne)
Grace Southwick, Sr., S, SUNY Poly (Star Lake, NY/Clifton-Fine)
Tessa Warner, Fr., S, Russell Sage (Nassau, NY/Columbia)
Adeline Phillips, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher (York, PA/York Catholic)
Liv Leider, Sr., L/DS, Utica (Miami, FL/Felix Varela)