LONG BEACH, Calif. - The PacWest announced the All-Conference honors late on Wednesday afternoon, recognizing several Sunbirds on Fresno Pacific's volleyball team as All-PacWest selections, including three special awards. The No. 10 'Birds ran away with Coach of the Year, Setter of the Year, and Co-Freshman of the Year - a feat FPU volleyball had yet to accomplish in the conference.

Head coach Kelsee Montagna was named the PacWest Coach of the Year.  With Montagna at the helm, Fresno Pacific volleyball reached an impressive 23-1 overall record that narrowly rivaled the 2010 team's 26 straight win record. This season, the 'Birds were named PacWest Team of the Week six times (three times in a row), earned their first national ranking since 2016, and broke into the AVCA Top 25 midway through regular season play. Fresno Pacific was predicted to finish fifth in the conference preseason poll, but proved themselves formidable as 2025 PacWest Champions for the first time ever.  In her two seasons, Montagna has turned a 13-16 program into a NCAA contender.  

Setting up the offense for the Sunbirds, Mikayla Weiss earned Setter of the Year and First Team All-PacWest. The Fresno State transfer was ranked third in the PacWest in hitting percentage (.398) and in assists per set with 9.25. She has fourteen double-doubles under her belt this season and captured her first triple-double in the sweep over Menlo with 10 digs, 10 kills and 26 assists. Earlier in the year, the graduate from Clovis hit her 1000th career assist and recorded a season-best 53 assists against Menlo.

Joining Weiss as First Team All-PacWest selections were senior superstars, Geneva Elliott and Cambria Waites. Elliott, the starting middle blocker for the Sunbirds, currently leads the team with 79 blocks overall. The Tucson, Arizona native is sixth in the nation in hitting percentage (.419) and finished second in the PacWest (.412) and seventh in solo blocks (11).

Lodi, California's Waites switched her role as the starting setter and took a swing at being the opposite for FPU. Her contributions at the net have paired nicely with Weiss, leading the team with 225 kills and 29 service aces. The senior was also fifth in conference in service aces (29) and ninth in points (281). She recently captured her 200th career service ace and hit her first triple-double of the season against Menlo with 13 kills, 14 assists, and 16 digs. The setter-opposite secured nine double doubles, hitting three in a row against Chaminade, Biola, and Point Loma.  Waites is now a two-time, back-to-back First Team selection for the Sunbirds.  

Making her debut as a Sunbird, Madelyn Feramisco was not only named the Co-Freshman of the Year, she was also tabbed Second Team All-PacWest. The freshman from Clovis started in every match this season. She ended the regular season second on the team with 222 kills, just shy of Waites. Her consistency was unparalleled, wracking up a .213 hitting percentage and four double-doubles on the year. Feramisco achieved a notable performance in the five-set showdown against PLNU, capturing 15 kills and 21 digs overall.

Montagna, Weiss, and Feramisco join fellow 2025 PacWest honorees Lillie Hinton (Chaminade), Macy Reynolds (PLNU), Malu Garcia (Hawaii-Hilo), and Abigail Nua (PLNU) as the Co-Freshman, Libero, Newcomer, and Player of the Year, respectively, for the conference.

NEXT UP: The 10th-ranked 'Birds are in Honolulu, Hawaii for the inuagural PacWest Championships, November 20-21.  FPU will take on Chaminade in the semifinals on Thursday, with the winner advancing to the Friday's final against either Point Loma or Hawaii-Hilo for an automatic qualifying berth in the NCAA Tournament.

To view the full article, click here for the 2025 All-PacWest Selections.

For more information on the PacWest Tournament, click here for the PacWest Volleyball Championship Tournament Central.

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