Every Monday during the season, a NESCAC Player of the Week will be selected based on information submitted by the athletic communications offices at member institutions.
 
NESCAC Volleyball Player of the Week
Claire Castor – Tufts – Sr. –  OH – Carmel, Ind.
Castor was named the 2026 New England Challenge MVP as the Jumbos earned the tournament title for the first time since 2018. The senior hit .284 for the weekend, totaling 40 kills in over three matches while averaging 3.08 kills per set. Castor also posted six total aces and 30 total digs in the three wins over Springfield (RV), No. 25 Babson, and No. 7 MIT. Against Springfield, the outside hitter had 15 kills, 10 digs, and two aces. She followed that up with 15 kills on 31 swings against Babson, totaling 11 digs and two aces. Castor finished the weekend with 10 kills, two aces, and nine digs against No. 7 MIT in the tournament title match. 
 
NESCAC Weekly Honor Roll
Amherst – Addison Lau (New Fairfield, Conn.) had 11 kills and 17 digs over two matches last week. In a 3-0 win over Wellesley, the sophomore had team highs in kills (7) and digs (10) with a .417 hitting percentage.
 
Bates – Sofia Castiglioni (Oakland, Calif.) led the Bobcats to a 3-1 win over Emmanuel, posting 14 kills and 10 total blocks and a .545 hitting percentage. The senior followed up with a team-high seven kills and three blocks against Plymouth State. Castiglioni ranks fourth in the NESCAC with a .345 hitting percentage and third in blocks per set at 1.03.
 
Bowdoin – Junior right side Alison Smith (Winnetka, Ill.) led the Polar Bears in kills with 34 in a three-win non-conference weekend, hitting .364. Smith paced the team in kills with 13 versus Lasell and 10 against Wellesley on Saturday to help Bowdoin extend its win streak to four games. Smith also added six blocks and 13 digs on the weekend.
 
Colby – Senior Olivia Drayden (Houston, Texas) led Colby to a 3-0 non-conference run. Drayden totaled 13 service aces, 16 total kills, and six blocks in the three matches. The senior showcased efficiency against Lasell (seven kills, .500 hitting percentage, three aces, two blocks) and WPI (six kills, .556 hitting percentage, five aces, three blocks), while opening the weekend with a match-high five aces against Thomas.
 
Conn. College – Rae Wartelle (Tacoma, Wash.) hit .439 and averaged 4.57 kills and 0.86 blocks per set last week as the Camels picked up two wins and extended their winning streak to a season-high four games. The senior finished with 16 kills, three blocks, and three aces in a 3-1 victory at Mount Holyoke. Wartelle added 16 kills, three blocks, and three aces as Conn. College swept Wheaton in its final regular-season home game. The middle blocker moved into eighth place on the Camels’ career kills list with 832.
 
Hamilton – Ayzlinn Trefren (Simi Valley, Calif.) averaged 4.57 points, 4.29 digs, 3.71 kills and 0.71 aces in seven sets and posted a hitting percentage of .371 (26-3-62) in two non-conference wins on Saturday. Trefren smashed a career-high 21 kills and added 21 digs for the first 20-20 match of the junior's career in a four-set victory at Union. Trefren hit .422 with two errors in 45 total attempts. Trefren added nine digs, five kills and three aces in a three-set sweep against University of Mount Saint Vincent.
 
Middlebury – Natalie Stanford (Mill Valley, Calif.) tallied 36 total kills at the New England Challenge. The right-side hitter opened the three-match slate with her first double-double as a Panther (14 kills, 10 digs) in a five-set marathon against No. 25 Babson. Stanford logged eight kills against No. 7 MIT and her second double-double of the weekend (14 kills, 12 assists) against Springfield. Her performance earned her a spot on the New England Challenge’s All-Tournament Team. The rookie ranks third in the conference in total kills (229) heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
 
Trinity – Sophomore Emma Ewart (San Diego, Calif.) led Trinity to a 2-0 weekend, securing road victories over the Coast Guard (3-1) and Smith (3-2). Ewart recorded back-to-back double-doubles, totaling 33 kills, 35 digs, and five service aces across nine sets. Against Coast Guard, Ewart posted a match-high 17 kills, 14 digs, and three service aces while hitting .279. Against Smith, she registered a match-high 16 kills, 21 digs, and two service aces to help the Bantams secure a five-set victory over the Pioneers. Ewart averaged 3.67 kills and 3.89 digs per set while tallying 38 points across the two victories.
 
Wesleyan – Senior Elliana Moreno (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) posted 32 digs across two matches, averaging 4.00 digs per set, as the Cardinals secured road wins over Smith and Coast Guard. Moreno posted 18 digs in a five-set come-from-behind win over Smith before registering 14 digs in a three-set sweep of Coast Guard on Saturday. Against Coast Guard, Moreno reached 1,000 career digs, becoming the first Cardinal since 2023 to hit that mark.