Steinbrecher Named ECAC Coach of the Year, Louisell Named First Team

DANBURY, Conn. – James Madison volleyball Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher was named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year while Kennedy Louisell took home First Team honors, the organization announced on Friday.

Steinbrecher – also named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year - led JMU to a Sun Belt regular-season championship in 2025, finishing 22-9 and 13-3 in league play. The Dukes led the conference in kills (1,695), assists (1,594), and hitting percentage (.255) along with ranking seventh nationally with 325.5 blocks (2.58 per set).

Louisell added to her list of accolades, as the junior was also named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region team on Dec. 9. The 2025 Sun Belt Player of the Year set JMU Division I single-season school records in kills (605) and kills per set (4.80), along with the single-match record for kills (38), doing so against Georgia Southern on Oct. 25.

After bringing in eight new players following an 11-16 record in 2024, Steinbrecher and the Dukes rebounded from a 2-4 start to the 2025 campaign by ratting off 13 straight wins from Sept. 27 to Nov. 13 – tied for the third longest winning streak in program history.

ECAC Major Awards
Player of the Year: Korrin Burns - Saint Francis University, Sr., OH
Libero of the Year: Jessie Golden – Brown University, Sr., L
Rookie of the Year: Ava Poinsett – Yale University, Fr., OH
Coach of the Year: Lauren Steinbrecher, James Madison

ECAC Division I Women's Volleyball All-ECAC First Team*
TaKenya Stafford – Coppin State, Rs-Sr., OH
Kiannisha Santiago – Rider University, Sr., OPP
Korrin Burns – Saint Francis University, Sr., OH
Kennedy Louisell – James Madison University, Jr., OH
Izadora Stedile – Hofstra University, Sr., OH
Alexandra Sappia – Saint Francis University, Rs-Sr., S
Jessie Golden – Brown University, Sr., L

ECAC Division I Women's Volleyball All-ECAC Second Team
Kali Moore – Stony Brook University, Sr., OH
Arianna Ugolini – Bryant University, Sr., OH
Maya Walker – Fairfield University, Sr., MB
Ava Poinsett – Yale University, Fr., OH
Sydney Draper – Princeton University, Jr., S
Coco Figueroa – Coppin State, Jr., L

ABOUT THE ECAC
The ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) is an eighty-five-year-old organization with well over 200 member schools across all three NCAA Divisions - I, II and III. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and colleges by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast.

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