Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference (SEC) released their All-Conference list for volleyball for the 2025 season and Washington and Burlington led the conference with six All-Conference nods.
Player of the Year
It takes a special player to repeat as Conference Player of the Year and Washington’s Leighton Messinger is that special kind of player as the senior defended her Player of the Year honors.
The senior led the conference in kills with 320 and finished second in efficiency with a mark of 0.271. She also finished in the top 15 of the conference in blocks and digs and tallied 25 aces for the season. Messinger finished her career with 1,142 kills.
The honor also placed her on the All-Conference 1st Team.
Burlington
It seems appropriate to start with the conference champion as the Grayhounds yanked the crown away from Washington after a three-set thriller (23-25, 25-17, 15-12) to start the second day of the conference tournament. The Grayhounds have now won 31 games in back-to-back seasons after eclipsing 20 wins in a season once since 2010.
Helping the Grayhounds reach those heights was two senior 1st Teamers: middle hitter Daphne Brown and Lily Newell, the libero. Brown had a solid season protecting the net with 183 kills and a conference leading 65 blocks. She also ranked 6th in aces with 45.
Newell was just as impressive serving as she totaled 33 aces for the season on a 94.7% serve efficiency rating. Additionally, the senior ranked second in the conference with 407 digs for the season.
Gemma Plummer was named to the 2nd Team with 141 kills along with the freshman Lauren Schrader, as she finished 3rd in the conference with 54 blocks. Sydney Schroeder led the conference in aces, and Meliah Ertz tabbed All-SEC Honorable Mention honors.
Washington
The Demons actually held a better overall conference record with their loss to Burlington, marking their only loss against the SEC this season. Washington finished the year with a 21-14 record.
Joining Messinger on the 1st Team was junior Layla Green. The middle hitter led the conference with a 0.318 kill efficiency, as she nabbed 172 kills for the year. She also finished 7th in blocks with 45 to go along with her 31 aces.
Taylor Miksch, who finished with 205 kills, and Reagan Miller, who finished second in the conference in aces, grabbed a spot on the 2nd Team. Ellie Farmer and Carys Miller made the All-SEC Honorable Mention Team.
Fairfield
The Trojans knocked off Burlington earlier in the regular season and handled Mt. Pleasant down the stretch to solidify their claim for 3rd in the conference, going 7-3 against the SEC and 22-13 overall. This earned the team two 1st Team members in senior Faith Jones and junior Natalie Steele.
Jones had a year to learn from Maddie Jones, another prolific setter for the Trojans currently playing at Southeastern Community College, and she made good use of her time, collecting 751 assists this season to not only lead the conference by over 200 assists but also finish top 40 in the state. She will end her career with 1,419 career assists.
Jones also added 65 kills and 31 aces to the season totals.
It’s not often that you have to divide your time amongst two sports in the same season, but that was the task for Natalie Steele. She ended up finishing with 1st Team honors in volleyball and 8th place at state in tennis. The junior led her team with 217 kills with a kill efficiency of 0.204 for the year. Steele also grabbed 38 aces.
Leah Helmick, who tabbed 216 kills for the season, took home 2nd Team honors. Isabel McCready and Elyse Setterstrom collected All-SEC Honorable Mention honors.
Mt. Pleasant
The Panthers handled Fort Madison and Keokuk for fourth place in the conference race as they finished 4-6 in the SEC and 22-15 overall, their first winning record since 2021. Their season included a win in their Regional as they swept Keokuk to advance to the semifinals for the second year in a row.
Head coach Alicia Schrader talked about what this season meant for the program,
“We just had a talk, and I told them that I think they really raised the standard for volleyball, for Mount Pleasant this year. I kind of told them a story back when that way back when I was in 8th grade and how, you know, at that time we had a new coach and we had these shirts that said we were doormats and a few years later after that we had three consecutive trips to the state tournament and I told them that’s what I see in them and they don’t know that all these middle school girls talk about them at home. They look up to them, they’ve really inspired a whole group of kids. So, making sure they know that they are just a huge part. I hope a huge part of change and lifting the standard for Mount Pleasant.”
Helping turn the program around was senior hitting Alex Scott, the lone Panther to earn 1st Team honors. Despite missing six matches, Scott finished fourth in the conference with 245 kills on a kill efficiency of 0.104. She finished her career with 686 kills and 136 aces, a stat she led the team in the last three years.
Addison Clark, who finished second in the conference in kills with 281, grabbed a spot on the 2nd Team. The senior finished her career with 640 kills and with her second 2nd Team nod. Jenna Schwartz, who was second in blocks for the conference, and Abby Carthey, who finished with 1,399 assists, finished All-SEC Honorable Mention.
Fort Madison
The Bloodhounds won two conference games this year—both against Keokuk—and were ousted by Burlington in the first round of the regional to finish the year with a 13-21 record. Dayonna Davis, a senior, made the 2nd Team for Fort Madison.
Davis collected 264 kills on an efficiency of 0.172 to go along with 18 blocks for the year. Jaycee Fullenkamp and Kylie Lumino grabbed a spot on the All-SEC Honorable Mention squad.
Keokuk
In a tough season for Keokuk, the Chiefs went winless against the conference and finished 6-24 overall. Kendra Boatman, who was All-SEC Honorable Mention last year as a setter, made it on the 2nd Team this year as an outside hitter, swatting 0.196 for 225 kills. She also tallied 43 aces.
Kylie Sisk, a senior, and Nevaeh Logan, a junior who also defended her conference crown in tennis, made the Honorable Mention list.
Academic All-Conference
Lily Newell Burlington
Savannah Lambert Burlington
Daphne Brown Burlington
Ednine Saint Aime Burlington
Sydney Schoreder Burlington
Vanessa Woodsmall Burlington
Sophia Young Burlington
Meliah Ertz Burlington
Gemma Plummer Burlington
Emma Hutchinson Burlington
Sela Rascon Burlington
Koertlynne Karver Burlington
Emmelia Miller Fairfield
Frances Miller Fairfield
Maddy Martin Fairfield
Isabel McCready Fairfield
Bella Buckley Fairfield
Faith Jones Fairfield
Iris Lane Fairfield
Ella Bentler Fairfield
Mallory Wigle Fairfield
Natalie Steele Fairfield
Jaden Haynes Fairfield
Elyse Setterstrom Fairfield
Maleena Bentley Fort Madison
Dayonna Davis Fort Madison
Mackenzie Huebner Fort Madison
Adelyn Lampe Fort Madison
Kylie Lumino Fort Madison
Alaina Schwerin Fort Madison
Cally Leenerts Keokuk
Alayna King Keokuk
Neveah Logan Keokuk
Carrigan Morris Keokuk
Lizzy Mason Keokuk
Kendra Boatman Keokuk
Kyndra Ryland Keokuk
Kylie Sisk Keokuk
Meadow Carter Mt. Pleasant
Abby Carthey Mt. Pleasant
Addison Clark Mt. Pleasant
Kate Musselman Mt. Pleasant
Paige Newton Mt. Pleasant
Alex Scott Mt. Pleasant
Myah Starr Mt. Pleasant
Sophia Walderbach Mt. Pleasant
Breana White Mt. Pleasant
Sarah Berdo Washington
Keagyn Coleman Washington
Kendall Conway Washington
Ellie Farmer Washington
Layla Green Washington
Elyse Nichols Washington
Layla Swift Washington
Lily Brown Washington
Leighton Messinger Washington
Taylor Miksch Washington
Addison Miller Washington
Carys Miller Washington