GLIAC -- The 2025 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) volleyball postseason awards have been announced following a vote by the league's coaches.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kayla Giroux, Wayne State
Wayne State's senior middle blocker Kayla Giroux (Flat Rock, Mich.) is the 2025 GLIAC Player of Year becoming just the second in program history, the first since WSU Hall of Famer Rachel Parham in 1987, and the first ever GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year. In 16 league matches, Giroux paced the conference in hitting percentage (.388), kills (242), points (286) and points per set (4.77), while ranking second in both total blocks (61) and block assists (46), and fourth in blocks per set (1.02). The veteran racked up five GLIAC weekly honors in 2025, four of which were offensive, twice as many instances as the next-closest honoree. The school's first ever four-time First Team All-GLIAC recipient. Giroux attained career highs in total attacks and kills for league play as well with 495 and the 242 mentioned earlier, respectively.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Natalie Harris, Parkside
Natalie Harris has been crowned the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, becoming the first player in Parkside program history to earn the honor in back-to-back years. The reigning champion continued her dominance in 2025, earning GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week three times while anchoring the Parkside defense. She finished the regular season as the conference leader in total digs with 543—99 more than any other player—and led the GLIAC with 5.38 digs per set, ranking 15th nationally. Harris also delivered from the service line with 38 aces, fourth most in the conference. Her consistency shined all year long, recording 13 matches with 20-plus digs, five with 30 or more, and posting a career-high 34 digs against Missouri S&T. In addition to her defensive honors, Harris was also named First Team All-GLIAC for her standout season.
SETTER OF THE YEAR
Kayla Dulgar, Wayne State
Wayne State's junior setter Kayla Dulgar (Warsaw, Ohio / River View) is the first GLIAC Setter of the Year in program history. In 16 league matches, Dulgar led the conference in assists per set (10.83) and service aces (26), was second in total assists (650) and tied-for-second in aces per set (0.43). The three-time 2025 GLIAC Setter of the Week recorded career highs in league play for total blocks (23) and kills (39) to go with 140 digs and a .347 hitting percentage on 98 attempts (personal best).
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Katerina Stout, Wayne State
Wayne State's rookie middle blocker Katerina Stout (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota) is the fifth GLIAC Freshman of the Year in program history and first since Kayla Giroux in 2022. In 16 league matches, Stout hit .242 with 102 kills and 38 errors on 264 total attacks. Defensively in conference play, the first-year Warrior registered 51 total blocks (eighth in the GLIAC), including 14 solo stops (tied-for-seventh) and 37 assisted (eighth). Stout finished with 10 or more kills in four outings including a personal-best 13 kills at No. 12 Ferris State on Sept. 27 with only one error on 22 swings for a .545 hitting percentage. She also notched five or more total blocks in four league efforts.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Tim Koth, Wayne State
Wayne State head coach Tim Koth was named GLIAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career (2012, 2021) and second instance as a Warrior. In his 12th year at WSU, Koth guided the program to a 21-5 regular-season record, a 13-3 league mark and a share of the GLIAC Regular-Season Championship for the first time in 44 years. Wayne State won 13 conference matches for the first time since 2010 and earned the No. 2 seed in the GLIAC Tournament, its highest seed in school history.
A complete list of the 2025 All-GLIAC volleyball teams is below:
2025 First Team All-GLIAC
Abby Alan, Davenport
Kayla Dulgar, Wayne State
Sam Fisch, Parkside
Kayla Giroux, Wayne State
McKenzie Gruner, Northern Michigan
Natalie Harris, Parkside
Emily May, Ferris State
Meghan O'Sullivan, Grand Valley State
Gabby Piazza, Ferris State
Brianna Stawski, Grand Valley State
Kendall Stover, Grand Valley State
Hayley Wegener, Ferris State
2025 Second Team All-GLIAC
Kennedy Arp, Grand Valley State
Leigha Baldwin, Wayne State
Allie Barlow, Northern Michigan
Hayley Carr, Davenport
Arra Cottrell, Purdue Northwest
Logyn Geren, Ferris State
Liesl Haugen, Northern Michigan
Ava Irvin, Parkside
Madelynn Kreider, Michigan Tech
Rachel Townsend, Saginaw Valley State
Paige Wagner, Michigan Tech
Rachel Zurek, Michigan Tech
2025 Honorable Mention All-GLIAC
Kaitlin Jordan, Davenport
Hope Davies, Ferris State
Kate Goudreau, Grand Valley State
Vanessa Swerdon, Lake Superior State
Tricia Kennedy, Michigan Tech
Madison York, Northern Michigan
Avary Polavin, Parkside
Marina Gronkiewicz, Purdue Northwest
Alessia Isgro, Roosevelt
Marissa Roe, Saginaw Valley State
Katerina Stout, Wayne State
