MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – The No. 12 MIT women's volleyball team saw Kayleigh May earn NEWMAC Athlete of the Year honors, Ella Zhou collect Rookie of the Year plaudits, and head coach Paul Dill and his staff (Brooke Stanley, Jeremy Velazquez, Mike Coniglione, and Ashley Margetts) receive Coaching Staff of the Year accolades as announced by the conference on Tuesday.
 
The Engineers also placed five student-athletes on the All-Conference Team. May and Zhou were joined by Ali Gibbs and Eileen Sadati on the First Team while Daphne Gavros secured a spot on the Second Team.
 
Kayleigh May

• 2025 NEWMAC Athlete of the Year and All-Conference First Team
• Second year in a row MIT has received this award
• Leads the NEWMAC in assists (1,049) and assists per set (11.04)
• Contributes to an offense that ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.264)
• Previous NEWMAC honors: All-Conference First Team (2024)

Ella Zhou

• 2025 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and All-Conference First Team
• Second year in a row MIT has received this award
• Ranks fourth in the NEWMAC in kills per set (3.22), fifth in aces per set (0.54), sixth in kills (306), and eighth in aces (51)

Ali Gibbs

• 2025 NEWMAC All-Conference Team
• Ranks second in the NEWMAC in hitting percentage (.371) and seventh in blocks (73), and is tied for eighth in blocks per set (0.74)
• Previous NEWMAC honors: 2025 NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding player

Eileen Sadati

• 2025 NEWMAC All-Conference First Team
• First-time honoree
• Ranks third in the NEWMAC in kills per set (3.31) and fifth in kills (308)

Daphne Gavros

• 2025 NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team
• First-time honoree
• Ranks fifth in the NEWMAC in digs (380) and digs per set (3.88)
• Contributes to a defense that leads the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.117) and opponent aces (1.22 per set)

MIT continues its season this week in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship when it hosts Pacific Lutheran University in a first-round match on Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 PM.
 
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