We Speak Volleyball

SEC Volleyball Players of the Week: Kentucky’s Morgan Gaerte Sweeps Player and Offensive Honors in Week 10

Published

16 seconds ago

November 2, 2026

Kentucky volleyball players celebrate on court during the Wildcats' sweep of Missouri

Kentucky celebrates during its sweep of Missouri on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. Photo by UK Athletics.

The Southeastern Conference announced its Volleyball Players of the Week Presented by Allstate for Week 10, with Kentucky’s Morgan Gaerte sweeping the Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week honors.

SEC Player of the Week

Morgan Gaerte, Kentucky

SEC Offensive Player of the Week

Kentucky’s Morgan Gaerte, a junior outside hitter from Angola, Ind., hit .350 with 19 kills on 40 swings in Friday’s sweep of Missouri. The 19 kills are only two shy of Gaerte’s season high and career high of 21 set in the league opener at Vanderbilt. In her first match at a new position this season, it was her third SEC match this season hitting .350 or above. Gaerte also had seven assists and only errored five times.

SEC Co-Defensive Players of the Week

Missouri’s Ainoah Cruz, a senior libero from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, averaged 5.38 digs per set over two matches this past weekend. On Friday at No. 7 Kentucky, Cruz recorded 14 digs and two assists. In Sunday’s five-set win over No. 6 Tennessee, she contributed 29 digs, four assists and two aces.

Texas A&M’s Kaia Castle, a junior middle blocker from Buffalo, Minn., averaged 2.43 blocks per set over two matches this past weekend for the Aggies. Castle recorded a season-high 12 blocks in Friday’s win over No. 6 Tennessee, the most by a player in a four-set match in the SEC this season and the second-best block performance in program history for a four-set match. She followed up with a five-block outing versus No. 14 Texas to mark her seventh game this season with five or more blocks and her sixth in her last seven games.

SEC Setter of the Week

Kentucky’s Kassie O’Brien, a sophomore setter from Katy, Texas, led the Wildcats to a .327 team hitting percentage with her 43 assists in Friday’s sweep over Missouri. O’Brien also added seven digs, two kills and two blocks against the Tigers. In five of her last six matches, she has recorded 40 or more assists, with three of those performances occurring during a three-set match.

SEC Freshman of the Week

Texas’ Henley Anderson, an outside hitter from Dripping Springs, Texas, averaged 4.33 points and 3.50 kills per set and owned a .425 hitting percentage during two sweeps at home for the Longhorns. Anderson posted 11 kills, three digs, two aces and one block against Georgia on Wednesday. She then tallied 10 kills, four digs, two blocks and one ace in Sunday’s win over No. 17 Texas A&M.

We Speak Volleyball

Amador Goes on the Road and Knocks Off Mariposa County 3-1 in the Playoff Opener

Published

2 hours ago

November 2, 2026

We Speak Media

The Amador volleyball players pose on the team bus during the trip to Mariposa.

Photo courtesy of Amador Volleyball.

Amador made the long trip to Mariposa County on Tuesday night and came home with a playoff win, beating the Grizzlies 3-1 in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V playoffs.

The Buffaloes took the opening set 25-22, dropped a tight second set 26-24, and then took over the match. Amador won the third set 25-19 and closed out the fourth 25-15 to finish off one of the bigger road wins of the opening round anywhere in the section.

The result was no small feat. Mariposa County entered the playoffs as the undefeated Southern League champion, 14-0 in league play, and the Grizzlies had not lost a league match in 42 straight outings dating back through their run of dominance, according to The Mariposan. Their only losses all season had come against larger schools, and they were playing at home in front of their own crowd.

None of that slowed the Buffaloes, who turned the night into a team celebration. The program’s own social post from the trip called it a fierce fight for the win after the long ride south, a bus trip, and a stop on the way. After dropping the second set, Amador answered with its two most comfortable sets of the night to seal the upset.

The win advanced Amador to the Division V quarterfinals, where the Buffaloes’ run ended Thursday with a 3-1 loss at Bret Harte. Mariposa County closed a standout season at 27-11, its league championship streak stopped one match into the postseason by a Sutter Creek team that refused to be intimidated.