FRISCO, Texas — Southeastern's Kyra McKelvey and India Bennett along with A&M-Corpus Christi's Virginia Van Der Werff have earned this week's Jersey Mike's Southland Conference Volleyball Player of the Week awards, the league office announced Tuesday. Van Der Werff is a fourth-time honoree this season while Bennett earns recognition for a third time and McKelvey gets her second.
Offensive Player of the Week: Kyra McKelvey, Southeastern – Jr. – OH – Navarre, Fla. (Navarre High School)
McKelvey continued her remarkable 2025 campaign with 5.00 kills per set and a .431 hitting percentage in a 2-0 week. She posted 15 kills and hit .370 in a 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 victory at UIW Wednesday. She added more 15 kills on 24 swings (.500 hitting percentage) and shared team-high honors with four blocks in Saturday's 25-22, 25-20, 25-17 win over HCU Saturday. McKelvey ranks among the Southland Conference leaders in hitting percentage (.362, 2nd), kills per set (3.87, 2nd) and points per set (4.16, 3rd).
Defensive Player of the Week: India Bennett, Southeastern – R Sr. – MB – Prairieville, La. (Dutchtown High School)
Bennett led the way with 2.00 blocks per set in a 2-0 week that saw SLU sweep UIW and HCU. She finished with eight blocks to go with eight kills in a 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 victory at UIW Wednesday. In Saturday's 25-22, 25-20, 25-17 win over HCU, she led Southeastern with four blocks and added 10 kills. Bennett hit .412 for the week and leads the Southland with 1.68 kills per set this fall.
Setter of the Week: Virginia Van Der Werff, A&M-Corpus Christii – So. – S – Lansing, Kan. (Lansing High School)
On a 2-0 week, Van Der Werff ran the offense to a .379 efficiency between the two matches for the Islanders. She averaged 12.71 assists/set and attacked at a .478 clip herself with 13 kills. Van Der Werff added three aces and 11 digs on the well-rounded week.
2025 Southland Conference Volleyball Players of the Week
| Date |
Offensive |
Defensive |
Setter |
| Sept. 1 |
Kyra McKelvey, Southeastern |
Celianiz Cabranes, UTRGV |
Virginia Van der Werff, A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Sept. 8 |
Katherine Holtman |
India Bennett, Southeastern |
Calissa Allison, UIW |
| Sept. 15 |
Tamara Chavez, Nicholls |
Brooklyn Jaeger, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Virginia Van der Werff, A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Sept. 22 |
Kitana Tu'ufuli, UIW |
Gabby Baker, Lamar |
Isabella Costantini, UTRGV |
| Sept. 29 |
Finley Evans, UIW |
India Bennett, Southeastern |
Peyton Fadal, HCU |
| Oct. 6 |
Izabella Ortiz, SFA |
Brooklyn Jaeger, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Virginia Van der Werff, A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Oct. 13 |
Nadine Zech, UTRGV |
Jade Washington, East Texas A&M |
Peyton Fadal, HCU |
| Oct. 20 |
Maja Malinowska, Lamar |
Jade Washington, East Texas A&M |
Alexa Gonzalez, Lamar |
| Oct. 28 |
Kyra McKelvey, Southeastern |
India Bennett, Southeastern |
Virginia Van Der Werff, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school's sports information director. Voting for one's own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.