DALLAS – The CUSA Preseason All-Conference Volleyball Team was unveiled Thursday morning, with three Aggies making the cut. NM State had the following members land on the team:
Mari Sharp,
Ryleigh Whitekettle, and
Starr Williams. These three women became the first in program history to earn CUSA honors, following the addition of NM State to the conference on July 1.
Mari Sharp (Sr., OH/RS, 5'9") is a versatile, do-it-all athlete out of Albuquerque. Among returning Aggies, Sharp finished top-two in the following statistics from 2022:
- Sets Played (81)
- Matches Played (26)
- Matches Started (14)
- Points (136.5)
- Points/Set (1.69)
- Kills (113)
- Kills/Set (1.40)
- Total Attempts (362)
- Hitting Percentage (.196)
- [among players with more than 100 Total Attempts]
- Service Aces (12)
- Digs (177)
- Digs/Set (2.19)
- Rec % (.941 on 410 attempts)
- [among players who returned more than 100 Serves]
- Blocks Solo (4)
- Block Assists (15)
- Total Blocks (19.0)
Ryleigh Whitekettle (R-So., OH/RS, 6'5") is a strong hitter from Topsail Beach, N.C. After redshirting in Fall 2021 at Houston, Whitekettle joined NM State for 2022. She will look to build on her already stellar production this season, as she leads all returning Aggies in the following statistics from 2022:
- Matches Started (17)
- Points (159.0)
- Points/Set (2.09)
- Kills (136)
- Kills/Set (1.79)
- Hitting Percentage (.221)
- [among players with more than 100 Total Attempts]
- Block Solos (5)
- Block Assists (36)
- Total Blocks (41.0)
- Blocks/Set (0.54)
Starr Williams (R-So., OH, 6'3") is an incredibly gifted athlete from Ontario, Calif. The Golden State native spent two seasons with Long Beach State before transferring in January of 2023. Williams ranked as the 24th-best recruit among outside hitters in California's Class of 2021 and earned a spot on the 2021 VolleyballMag.com Girls Fab 50 - the annual list featuring the top 50 senior-age players in the country. She also earned All-California Interscholastic Federal honors while also being named Newcomer of the Year by MaxPreps and earning a spot on the 2017 MaxPreps Freshman All-American Volleyball Team.
There were 16 student-athletes named to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team, with Paige Briggs (5-Sr., OH, Western Kentucky) being selected as the CUSA Preseason Player of the Year. The Hilltoppers led the conference with team selections to the team. NM State was the only school with three members on the team. Programs with two members include UTEP, Middle Tennessee and Liberty. FIU, Sam Houston, and LA Tech each landed one player on the preseason team.
CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team
- Syra Tanchin, FIU
- Kamryn Bacus, Liberty
- Delaney Dilfer, Liberty
- McKenzie Johnson, LA Tech
- Kayla Henley, MTSU
- Adri Rhoda, MTSU
- Mari Sharp, NM State
- Ryleigh Whitekettle, NM State
- Starr Williams, NM State
- Hannah Baker, Sam Houston
- Alianza Darley, UTEP
- Torrance Lovesee, UTEP
- Callie Bauer, WKU
- Paige Briggs, WKU*
- Kaylee Cox, WKU
- Kenadee Coyle, WKU
* - CUSA Preseason Player of the Year
The conference also released their preseason poll, as voted on by the head coaches. NM State finished fourth in the poll, and Western Kentucky was unanimously picked to win the conference. Each head coach is not allowed to vote for their own team.
CUSA Preseason Poll (first place votes)
1. WKU (8)
2. UTEP (1)
3. Liberty
4.
NM State
5. MTSU
6. FIU
7. Sam Houston
8. Jax State
9. LA Tech
For complete coverage of NM State volleyball during the 2023 season, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of the Aggies – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Volleyball), Twitter (@NMStateVBall) and Instagram (@NMStatevball).
