2025-26 AUS women’s volleyball major award winners and all-stars announced

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2025-26 AUS women's volleyball all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's six head coaches following regular season play. 

Saint Mary's left side Emilia Mikanovich was named the most valuable player for the second year in a row.

Other major award winners include Memorial's Naomie McWhinney, who was named AUS rookie of the year; Saint Mary's Taylor Lougheed, who earned the student-athlete community service award; and head coach of the UNB REDS, Lauren Hale-Miller, whose peers have selected her as the conference's coach of the year.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Emilia Mikanovich, Saint Mary's Huskies
Saint Mary's Huskies left side Emilia Mikanovich has been named the AUS women's volleyball most valuable player for the second consecutive season.

A fourth-year left side from Minsk, Belarus, Mikanovich led the conference this season in points per set (4.7), kills per set (4.07), and total attacks per set (10.92).

She also finished fifth in digs per set (3.24).

Mikanovich led the defending champion Huskies to a 10-10 regular season record and a third-place finish in the conference standings.

In addition to being selected as the AUS MVP, she earns a place on the AUS first team all-star squad today for the second straight season.

This marks the third consecutive season a player from the Huskies has been crowned AUS MVP. Former Saint Mary's standout Olivia Bell took home the honour in 2024 before Mikanovich's back-to-back wins.

Mikanovich will now look to become just the third AUS student-athlete to win the national player of the year award. Former Dalhousie standout Courtney Baker was named U SPORTS Player of the year in 2019-20 and Dalhousie's Karin Massen earned the national award in 1981-82.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Naomie McWhinney (Kristen Ryan Memorial Award)

Memorial Sea-Hawks middle blocker Naomie McWhinney has been selected as the 2025-26 recipient of the Kristen Ryan Memorial Award for AUS women's volleyball rookie of the year.

A humanities and social sciences student from Chelsea, Que., McWhinney played in 19 regular season matches for the Sea-Hawks this season.

She finished sixth in the AUS in blocks per set (0.87) and third in solo blocks with 29 on the season.

She averaged 2.6 points per set this season and had a .210 hitting percentage. McWhinney also finished fourth in the AUS in service aces with 28.

In 2013, this award was renamed in honour of former Cape Breton CAPERS player Kristen Ryan. A five-year member of the CAPERS women's volleyball team, Ryan was a two-time Atlantic conference all-star and was named the AUS libero of the year in 2009-10. She passed away in 2012 following a motor vehicle accident.

McWhinney is just the fourth Memorial player to earn the conference rookie of the year nod and the first since 2021-22 when former Sea-Hawks standout Melissa Hatfield earned the honour.

She now becomes the AUS nominee for the Mark Tennant Award for U SPORTS rookie of the year. No Atlantic conference player has ever won the national award.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Taylor Lougheed, Saint Mary's (Erin Bursey Memorial Award)

Saint Mary's Huskies setter Taylor Lougheed is the 2025-26 recipient of the Erin Bursey Memorial Award, given to the women's volleyball student-athlete who shows outstanding achievements in three areas: volleyball, academics and community involvement.

A fourth-year commerce student from Calgary, Alta., Lougheed has been a leader for the Huskies on and off the court. Serving as team captain, she ranked fifth in the AUS in total assists (490) and fifth in assists per set (7.31) this season. She also contributed defensively, finishing 13th in the conference in total blocks (31) and 13th in block assists (18).

In the classroom, Lougheed boasts a near-perfect 4.28 GPA and has earned Academic All-Canadian honours while consistently appearing on the Dean's List.

Lougheed is deeply involved in her community. She serves as Event Director for the Saint Mary's chapter of Motionball, helping organize campus fundraising events in support of Special Olympics athletes and inclusive sport initiatives. She is also Director of Women's Initiatives with the Saint Mary's Accounting Society and a campus ambassador for KPMG, connecting students with professional development opportunities.

Within the athletic community, Lougheed has spent three years with the Saint Mary's Athletic Council, organizing initiatives supporting Motionball, local women's shelters and food banks. She also serves as an Athletic Ambassador with the Scott McCain & Leslie McLean Centre for Sport, Business & Health, helping lead programming focused on athlete wellness, mental health and safe sport.

"Taylor represents exactly what this community award is meant to recognize: someone who leads with integrity, lifts others up, and uses sport and education as platforms for meaningful impact," said Huskies head coach Darren Russell. "She brings energy, compassion, and professionalism to everything she does, and there is no doubt she will continue making a positive difference wherever her career and athletic journey take her."

Lougheed now becomes the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS Therese Quigley Award, which has been won by an AUS player nine times—most recently by Dalhousie's Kasandra Trenke last season.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Lauren Hale-Miller, UNB REDS

In just her second season at the helm of the UNB REDS women's volleyball program, Lauren Hale-Miller has been chosen by her peers as the AUS coach of the year.

Hale-Miller led the U SPORTS no. 5-ranked REDS to an undefeated 20-0 finish in the regular season—the most wins in a season by a women's volleyball program in AUS history—and first place in the conference standings.

The REDS led the nation this season in service aces per set (2.52) and finished third nationally and first in AUS in points per set (17.0).

The UNB squad also led the Atlantic conference in kills per set (12.12), hitting percentage (.200) and assists per set (11.41). They finished second in digs per set (16.45) and blocks per set (2.34).

Coach Hale-Miller now becomes the AUS nominee for U SPORTS coach of the year. Only three coaches from the Atlantic conference have ever won the national award: current Acadia Axewomen bench boss Michelle Wood in 2023-24, former Dalhousie coach Rick Scott in 2016-17 and Moncton's Monette Boudreau-Carroll in 2007-08.

2024-25 AUS FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS AND ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

First Team All-Stars:
Emilia Mikanovich, Saint Mary's (4^th year – Minsk, Belarus)
Lydia Green, UNB (5^th year – Bedford, N.S.)
Talia Nixon, UNB (3^rd year – Fredericton, N.B.)
Karen Greek, Memorial (4^th year – Mount Pearl, N.L.)
Alexia LeMay-Evans, Acadia (4^th year – Sudbury, Ont.)
Esther Wildeboer, Saint Mary's (2^nd year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Courtney Hodder, Memorial (4^th year – Main Point, N.L.)

Second Team All-Stars:
Annik Boldon, Dalhousie (4^th year – Fredericton, N.B.)
Alena Piatukhova, Saint Mary's (4^th year – Minsk, Belarus)
Jenna Adams, UNB (4^th year – Truro, N.S.)
Heather Benko, UNB (4^th year – Sechelt, B.C.)
Lydia Grawer, Memorial (5^th year – St. Louis, Missouri)
Taylar Johnston, Memorial (3^rd year – Nokomis, Sask.)
Jasmine Allain, Moncton (5^th year – Richibucto, N.B.)

All-Rookie Team:
Naomie McWhinney, Memorial (Chelsea, Que.)
Jordin Parsons, Saint Mary's (Hebbville, N.S.)
Dominika Aniolowska, Dalhousie (Mississauga, Ont.)
Mia Jolicoeur, Moncton (Ottawa, Ont.)

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The schedule for the semi-final round of the 2026 Bell AUS Women's Volleyball Championship is as follows:

Semifinal Series A (Best 2-of-3) – UNB (1) vs. Dalhousie (4)

Game 1: Thursday, Feb. 19 – Dalhousie at UNB, 7 p.m. AST
Game 2: Friday, Feb. 20 – Dalhousie at UNB, 7 p.m. AST
Game 3: Saturday, Feb. 21 – Dalhousie at UNB, 7 p.m. AST*
(*if necessary)  

Semifinal Series B (Best 2-of-3) – Memorial (2) vs. Saint Mary's (3)

Game 1: Friday, Feb. 20 – Saint Mary's at Memorial, 7 p.m. NST
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 21 – Saint Mary's at Memorial, 7 p.m. NST
Game 3: Sunday, Feb. 22 – Saint Mary's at Memorial, 1 p.m. NST*
(*if necessary) 

The winners of each series will advance to the best 2-of-3 final round of the 2026 Bell AUS Women's Volleyball Championship. All games will be webcast at www.AUStv.ca.

The conference has one berth at nationals, which will be awarded to the AUS champion. The 2026 U SPORTS Women's Volleyball Championship will be hosted by Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., March 13–15.