It is that time of the year again, for the All-MAAC Volleyball awards, with them being announced on Nov. 20.
In the 2025 season, Quinnipiac played a 19-12 record, 16-2 in the conference. Its season ultimately ended at the hands of Rider University in the MAAC Semi-finals, its earliest exit from the Tournament since the 2022 Cinderella run.
Despite that, the Bobcats posted a great season and the accolades speak for themselves.
Let’s take a look at this year’s wins and snubs of the All-MAAC Awards.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Head coach Kyle Robinson was crowned Coach of the Year for the first time in his seven years at Quinnipiac.
In the 2025 season, Robinson led the Bobcats to 19 wins, 16 in conference with a 13-game win streak, and his team has consistently achieved 19 wins for the past three seasons.
Before his tenure at Quinnipiac, Robinson served as assistant coach at Ohio State University.
SETTER OF THE YEAR
Senior Damla Gunes was named MAAC Setter of the Year for the third time in a row.
The Bursa, Turkey native made history two years ago as the program’s first ever Setter of the Year and has only continued to break the ceiling since then.
She was named the MAAC Setter of the Week three times this season and broke Quinnipiac’s Division I record in total assists, breaking 4,000 with just 1,081 this year.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Player of the Year went to Rider University’s senior opposite Kiannisha Santiago, though many would argue that Quinnipiac’s graduate opposite Elena Giacomini (the Pre-season Player of the Year) should’ve gotten her back-to-back after earning that title as the first Quinnipiac player last season.
The two dominated the competition this year. Giacomini led the MAAC with total points (573) and 502 kills. Santiago was right behind her with 515 points and 435 kills. While it could be argued that Giacomini is clearly in the lead, to put into perspective of just how much of a difference was between these two players and the rest of the conference, the No. 3 player in kills was Iona University’s freshman outside Julia Leonardo with 380 and 429.5 points.
So there is no doubt that it was only one of these two in contention for that title. What most likely split the vote was errors.
Giacomini has a weapon of an arm, any bystander can see that. However, that led her to commit 249 errors with a .178 hitting percentage, while Santiago might have had less kills on the season but only 142 errors with a .271 hitting percentage.
A great example of this is the semifinal match between the two teams. Santiago was a weapon that Quinnipiac could not stop, with her 20 kills on the night. Even though the Bobcats fell 3-1 on sets, Giacomini matched her in kills but committed 10 attack errors while Santiago only had two.
The Bronc set out to prove that she earned the title of Player of the Year and Quinnipiac felt the price of it.
ALL-MAAC FIRST TEAM
Three Bobcats were named to the All-MAAC First Team: Giacomini, Damala Gunes and senior outside hitter Yagmur Gunes.
While Giacomini and Damla Gunes proved their spots with flashy stats, Yagmur Gunes definitely earned hers by being one of the most consistent players.
She recorded 373 kills with a .188 hitting percentage, but also shined at defense, recording 311 digs and 22 block assists and nine solo blocks.
She also became only the second Bobcat in Division I history to break the 1,000 kills and digs mark in her tenure at Quinnipiac.
ALL-MAAC ACADEMIC TEAM
Six Bobcats were named into the All-MAAC Academic Team: Giacomini, Damla Gunes, Yagmur Gunes and senior middle blockers Milena Silva, Tuana Turhan and outside hitter Ginevra Giovagnoni.
