ATLANTA - The Southern Athletic Association released its postseason awards for the 2026 volleyball season and Centre was well represented, with five players making the All-Conference squads and two major awards going to the Colonels.

Freshman setter Elle B Smith was named SAA Newcomer of the Year after an excellent debut campaign with the Colonels, also picking up a spot on the All-SAA First Team. Smith ran away with the conference assist title, finishing with 1,062 assists in her rookie season. She is 49 assists shy of passing Emily Gardner's modern era record for single-season assists and her 10.6 assists per set is the highest rate for any Centre player in the 25-point era. Smith is the fourth SAA Newcomer of the Year for the Colonels in the last five seasons.

Three of Smith's teammates joined her on the All-SAA First Team. Outside hitters Syd Bietz and Kendra Christopher each made All-SAA First Team honors, marking the fourth all-conference nod for Bietz and the first for Christopher.

Christopher paced the team with 325 kills in 2026, ranking in the top ten in the SAA in that category. The Danville, Ky. native finished with ten or more kills 18 times in 28 matches, and her 21 kills in Centre's upset win over Illinois Wesleyan were the most by any Centre player in a game this season. Christopher won SAA Offensive Player of the Week honors the week of Oct. 26 after hitting .329 with 38 kills across three matches.

Bietz finished second on the team with 310 kills on the year, also ranking in the top ten in the SAA. She recorded double digit kills in 17 of 28 games this season with a season high 20 kills against Emory on Nov. 7. The 2025 All-American currently is 24 kills away from moving into second place on Centre's all-time kills list, passing 2026 Centre Athletics Hall of Famer Brittany McNatt Floyd '98.

Middle hitter Elise Grundy was also named to the All-SAA First Team, picking up her first career all-conference award. Grundy had one of the best seasons by a middle hitter in Centre history, leading the league with a .399 hitting percentage on 257 kills against just 54 errors. She hit .400 or better in 18 of 28 matches and had double digit kills in eight matches, topping out at 14 twice. Grundy also led the league in solo blocks at 30 while ranking third with 85 total blocks.

Freshman libero Campbell Miles was Centre's last al-conference selection, making the All-SAA Second Team. Miles was a two-time SAA Defensive Player of the Week after finishing fifth in the league with 4.23 digs per set. Her 423 total digs ranked fourth in the conference. Miles had double digit digs in all but four of Centre's 28 matches and she finished with 20 or more digs six times, with her season and career high coming in a 28-dig performance in the regular season finale against Washington & Lee.

Finally, head coach Patrick Robidoux and assistant coach Emma White were named SAA Coaching Staff of the Year by the league's coaches. Finishing with a 25-3 record and a 15-1 mark in conference play to win the league regular season title for the second time in three years, Robidoux and White led the Colonels to a season of historic firsts in 2026. Centre's 25 regular season wins are the most in the 25-point era, and the Colonels are guaranteed to finish the season with a program record for winning percentage. Centre had win streaks of ten and 15 games during the year and had three wins over top ten opponents, including a win in September over no. 3 Illinois Wesleyan that tied a program record for the highest ranked win. The Colonels enjoyed three weeks at the top of the NCAA NPI rankings and one week at the top of the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, marking the first time a Centre team has been ranked no. 1 in any sport since the football team defeated Harvard in the 1921 C6H0 game.