Horizon League Unveils 2023 #HLVB All-League Awards

November 16

Rachel White

INDIANAPOLIS (November 16, 2023) – The Horizon League unveiled our 2023 #HLVB awards on Thursday. Awards were voted on by the League’s head coaches.

Wright State’s Callie Martin was named the Horizon League Player of the Year while teammate Katie Meyer earned Setter of the Year recognition and Raider head coach Travers Green was selected Coach of the Year. Oakland’s Emily Wichmann collected Defensive Player of the Year honors, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Panna Ratkai picked up Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year recognition and Green Bay’s Calli Gentry won the League’s Sportsmanship Award.

Dig Deeper:

Martin posted 3.19 kills, 2.9 digs, 0.78 blocks and 0.33 aces per set in League play while hitting .277 for the Raiders.
- Martin also received All-League First Team honors for the second consecutive season.
Ratkai is the first Freshman to be named Offensive Player of the Year in the eight seasons of the award’s history.
- Ratkai is the second Mastodon to win the award after Katie Crowe in the 2020 season and the first ‘Don to be named Freshman of the Year in the HL.
- The freshman paced the League with 5.07 kills per set in #HLVB play.
Wichmann led the League with 5.50 digs per set in #HLVB play and is the first Golden Grizzly to earn Defensive Player of the Year since Taylor Humm in 2014.
Meyer paced #HLVB with 10.80 assists per set in League action.
- Meyer’s Setter of the Year honor is the third for the Raiders in the last four seasons after Lainey Stephenson collected the award in the 2020 and 2022 seasons.
Travers Green picked up his second consecutive #HLVB Coach of the Year award after leading the Raiders to their fourth regular season title in the last five seasons.
The Sportsmanship Award recognizes student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. Sportsmanship is defined as behavior exhibited during competition by student-athletes based on values, respect and integrity.
Ari Miller is the League’s first five-time All-League First Team honoree.
Wright State paced the League with three All-League First Team selections while Green Bay, Milwaukee and Northern Kentucky added two selections each.
In the opening match of the 2023 #HLVB championship, No. 3 seed Milwaukee will take on No. 6 seed Cleveland State at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 17.
No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky will battle No. 5 seed Oakland in Friday’s second quarterfinal, scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
Wright State will play its semifinal match against the lowest-remaining seed after the quarterfinal matches at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Green Bay will take on the highest-remaining seed from the quarterfinals in the second semifinal match on Saturday, Nov. 18.
Every match of the 2023 Horizon League Volleyball Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+.
For complete championship information, visit #HLVB Championship Central.

2023 Horizon League Volleyball Award Winners

Player of the Year: Callie Martin, Wright State

Offensive Player of the Year: Panna Ratkai, Purdue Fort Wayne

Defensive Player of the Year: Emily Wichmann, Oakland

Setter of the Year: Katie Meyer, Wright State

Freshman of the Year: Panna Ratkai, Purdue Fort Wayne

Sportsmanship Award: Calli Gentry, Green Bay

Coach of the Year: Travers Green, Wright State

All-League First Team
Liberty Torres, Cleveland State
Tiffany Paalman, Green Bay
Hannah Vanden Berg, Green Bay
Madi Malone, Milwaukee
Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Joy Banks, Northern Kentucky
Abby Kanakry, Northern Kentucky
Emily Wichmann, Oakland
Panna Ratkai, Purdue Fort Wayne
Megan Alders, Wright State
Callie Martin, Wright State
Katie Meyer, Wright State

All-League Second Team
Emma Walker, Cleveland State
Anna Burke, Northern Kentucky
Patti Cesarini, Oakland
Natalie Stepanovich, RMU
Jenny Wessling, Wright State
Reilly Zegunis, Wright State

All-Freshman Team
Grace Purichia, IUPUI
Ava Hoying, Northern Kentucky
Gentry Brown, Oakland
Panna Ratkai, Purdue Fort Wayne
Ashby Willis, Purdue Fort Wayne
Natalie Stepanovich, RMU
Reilly Zegunis, Wright State

Sportsmanship Award Finalists
Calli Gentry, Green Bay
Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Abby Kanakry, Northern Kentucky
Anika Prisby, Oakland
Taya Haffner, Purdue Fort Wayne
Emma Brown, RMU
Andrea Bortulin, Wright State
Elise Moeller, Youngstown State