BOSTON, Mass. -- For the first time in the history of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference in any sport, a single player has been named the Conference Player of the Year, Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and Conference Rookie of the Year as Christopher Newport freshman Jasmine Williams collected the historic haul when the C2C awards were announced on Thursday afternoon. The first team All-Conference pick was joined by three teammates as All-Conference selections and Lindsay Birch headlined the 2026 C2C Coaching Staff of the Year for the Captains. 

Joining Williams as a first team All-Conference pick was senior Simara Alexander while the Captains also featured a pair of second team All-C2C selections in senior Alli Pratt and sophomore Fielding Croft. 

In the nearly 40-year history of the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference, only 24 student-athletes across all sponsored sports have earned even two major awards in a single athletic season. Only one, Ronda Jo Miller from Gallaudet, earned more in a single academic year as she was named the Player and Rookie of the Year for both volleyball and women's basketball during the 1996-97 season, but the Defensive Player of the Year award did not start being awarded until 2019. Since, no player in the eight sports that recognize a Defensive Player of the Year -- men's and women's basketball, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, baseball, softball, and volleyball -- has ever collected all three awards. Until Williams.

In volleyball lore, Williams joins an elite list that includes Miller from Gallaudet and three former Captains -- Briana Sutton (2013), Sammy Carroll (2019), and Alyssa Dozier (2025) -- to earn a pair of major awards in a single season. Sutton and Carroll were the Player and Rookie of the Year while Dozier was the first to earn Player and Defensive Player of the Year plaudits in the first year. 

The rookie middle blocker from Stafford, Va. is hitting a team-high .341 this season which ranks just outside the top ten all-time for a single season and is the second-highest mark by a freshman in program history. She played in 27 matches with 25 starts and has piled up a team-high 215 kills (2.59 per set) including eight matches with 10 or more. She registered her season-high with 14 kills on 18 swings against McMurry on September 18 and also added one of the finest single-game performances ever when she went 12-for-12 in a win at Mary Washington on October 3. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Williams logged 70 blocks as a front-row player including 28 solo and 42 assisted stops. Her top defensive match also came against McMurry as she was dominant at the net with seven blocks and added two digs. In total, she added 26 digs, with a season-high four on October 28. She ranked fifth in the conference in total points, with 265.0.

Head coach Lindsay Birch, alongside assistant coach Katie Hulett, was named the Coaching Staff of the Year in 2026 after leading the Captains to the regular season championship in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference. CNU is 20-8 overall this season while facing the 10th-toughest schedule in Division III this season. It marks the 14th time that she has been recognized as the top coach in the conference and the seventh time since joining the C2C in 2013. Showcasing depth and balance, the Captains rank in the top-20 nationally in assists (19th - 12.24 per set), blocks (19th - 2.20 per set), and in the top-25 in kills (24th - 13.19 per set) despite having a single player in the top 100 nationally in any of those three categories. 

 Joining Williams on the first team was senior Simara Alexander collecting her first career All-Conference selection. After earning C2C Tournament MVP honors last season, Alexander parlayed that momentum into a tremendous senior season. In 23 matches, Alexander accumulated 191 kills (2.55 per set) and also led the team in aces with 33 (0.44 per set). The Burke, Va. native set a career-high in digs with 62 and added 44.0 blocks. She ranked second on the team with a .312 attack percentage and has 10 double-digit kill performances this year. 

Rounding out a trio of front-court players earning All-Conference honors was second team star Alli Pratt. The senior had a breakout season in 2026 and ranked third on the team in total kills (195) and hitting percentage (.300). She has appeared in all 28 matches with a team-high 96 sets played and ranks second on the team in total blocks with 66. 

Finally, sophomore setter Fielding Croft secured second team All-C2C recognition for the Captains after helping lead the well-balanced offense. She led the team with 591 assists and has climbed to ninth on the all-time list in just her second season with 1,667 career assists. Croft has registered double-digit assists in all 62 matches she has played including a season-high 46 against William Smith on September 11. She added a .474 attack percentage on 76 swings with 40 kills and ranked second on the team with 27 aces. 

The Captains will return to the court on Friday, November 13 in the C2C Semifinals. CNU will take on either #4 Mary Washington or #5 Regent at 4:00 p.m. 

2026 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Volleyball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year - Jasmine Williams, Christopher Newport
Defensive Player of the Year - Jasmine Williams, Christopher Newport
Rookie of the Year - Jasmine Williams, Christopher Newport
Scholar-Athlete - Margo Melgoza, UC Santa Cruz
Coaching Staff of the Year - Christopher Newport (Lindsay Birch)

FIRST TEAM
Simara Alexander, Christopher Newport
Julie Altieri, Salisbury
Sophia Blaufuss, Salisbury
Alice Holoubek, Mary Washington
Kiley McTaggart, Salisbury
Margo Melgoza, UC Santa Cruz
Charlotte Skulte, UC Santa Cruz
Jasmine Williams, Christopher Newport

SECOND TEAM
Shiraz Benyoucef, UC Santa Cruz
Natalie Brown, Mary Washington
Fielding Croft, Christopher Newport
Akeela Cunningham, Warren Wilson
Elizabeth Gordon, Salisbury
Claire Keefer, Regent
Alli Pratt, Christopher Newport
Sophia Tapia, Salisbury