HADDONFIELD, N.J. - The Atlantic East Conference announced the Women’s Volleyball weekly award winners on Monday as Marywood swept the awards with Carolina Samaniego and Ayla Bransford earning Player and Specialty Player of the Week honors, respectively.
Player of the Week: Carolina Samaniego
School: Marywood
Class: Freshman
Position: Outside Hitter
Hometown: Laredo, Texas
High School: United
Brief Outlook of Week: Samaniego led the Pacers to a pair of victories with a team-high 35 points, eight aces, and 25 kills. She had 13 kills and 11 digs in a three-set win over Moravian. The Laredo, Texas, native followed with 12 kills and seven aces in a four-set victory against Immaculata. Across the week, she averaged five points per set, 3.57 kills per set, 2.86 digs per set, and 1.14 aces per set.
Specialty Player of the Week: Ayla Bransford
School: Marywood
Class: Freshman
Position: Setter
Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo.
High School: Pine Creek
Brief Outlook of Week: Bransford produced an astounding 74 assists and 21 digs in Marywood's victories over Moravian and Immaculata. In a three-set win against the Greyhounds, the freshman totaled 38 assists and 13 digs. She then nearly matched her earlier performance with 36 assists, along with four aces, versus the Mighty Macs. On the week, Bransford averaged a commanding 10.57 assists per set, along with three digs per set and 1.71 points per set.
Weekly Honor Roll:
Vanessa Pagano, Centenary: In the Cyclones 3-0 week, Pagano tallied 69 assists, including 21 service aces with 14 coming in one game. She also contributed two kills and seven digs to complete her week which saw record 7.75 assists and 2.13 points per set averages.
Ayanna Gaston, Gwynedd Mercy: Gaston averaged 7.88 assists per set and 1.38 digs per set across the week. The senior recorded 18 assists, a block assist, and five digs in a three-set loss at Lancaster Bible College before providing the Griffins four kills, three aces, 45 assists, and six digs in a five-set AEC fray at Neumann University. She also recorded six assists and two digs against Kings College (Pa.).
Mia Esposito, Immaculata: Esposito led Immaculata with 15 kills, five digs, and four total blocks in the Mighty Macs’ lone match of the week against Marywood on Saturday. Her performance was highlighted with a 4.50 points per set average coupled with a 3.75 kills per set average.
Ava Humphries, Marymount: Humphries notched double-digit digs in all four of Marymount's matches last week, recording a total of 50 digs, averaging 4.17 digs per set. She added five assists and a trio of service aces to her credit.
Hannah Strohm, Neumann: Strohm had 64 digs, 15 assists and seven service aces in a 1-2 week, going 1-0 in Atlantic East action. The sophomore tallied 14 digs in a 3-0 loss to Ursinus. In a 3-2 win over Gwynedd Mercy, Strohm had 34 digs and four service aces, including two service aces to seal the set five win. In a 3-1 loss to King’s, she had 16 digs and three service aces. The Lancaster, Pa., native averaged 5.33 digs per set and 1.25 assists per set.
Melissa Eddy, Neumann: Eddy tallied 40 kills, 45 digs and five service aces in a 1-2 overall week, going 1-0 in conference action. In a 3-2 win over Gwynedd Mercy, the sophomore had 17 kills and 19 digs. In a 3-1 loss to King’s, she finished with 15 kills and 16 digs. Her 46 total points yielded a 3.83 points per set average, coming alongside a 3.33 kills per set and 3.75 digs per set average.
2025 AEC Women’s Volleyball Weekly Award Winners:
AEC Player of the Week:
Sept. 2: Taylor Hallam, Marywood
Sept. 8: Genevieve Pollock, Marywood
Sept. 15: Poppy Skjonnemand, Centenary
Sept. 22: Sabrina Schoeberlein, Marymount
Sept. 29: Dadlyna Louis, Saint Elizabeth
Oct. 6: Taylor Hallam, Marywood
Oct. 13: Carolina Samaniego, Marywood
Oct. 20: Poppy Skjonnemand, Centenary
Oct. 27: Carolina Samaniego, Marywood
AEC Specialist Player of the Week:
Sept. 2: Ava Humphries, Marymount
Sept. 8: Catie Woolf, Marywood
Sept. 15: Rey Bennett, Centenary
Sept. 22: Andrea Fraga, Marywood
Sept. 29: Jessica Rothermel, Marymount
Oct. 6: Ayla Bransford, Marywood
Oct. 13: Ava Humphries, Marymount
Oct. 20: Ayla Bransford, Marywood
Oct. 27: Ayla Bransford, Marywood