NEW ORLEANS – South Alabama's Anna Loberg (Setter of the Year) and Cambria Gaier (Freshman of the Year) both took home individual Sun Belt Conference accolades on Wednesday, while Loberg was also selected to the league's all-conference first team, and Gaier, Sarah Gooch and Briana Wilson were named to the second team.

Loberg becomes just the second setter in program history to be selected as the SBC Setter of the Year, joining Kailey Keeble, who did so during the 2023 season. Gaier is now one of three Jaguars in program history to be named the Sun Belt's Freshman of the Year, joining Mechell Daniel (2013) and Rebecca Walk (2020). The first-team honor marks the second-straight for Loberg, while the second-team honor is the second-straight for Gooch.

South Alabama employed a 6-2 offense, rotating two setters, for the first half of the season, and Loberg still managed to rank third in the league in assists, averaging 8.19 per set entering the postseason. Loberg also recorded 23 aces, 47 kills, and 28 total blocks this season. 

During conference play, Loberg – who was named the SBC Preseason Setter of the Year prior to the start of the season – played some of her best ball as she was twice named the setter of the week. Her 9.24 assists per set against league foes were second-most among setters.

Since switching to a 5-1 offense in the series finale at Texas State, Loberg has averaged 9.84 assists per set, most of any setter with Georgia Southern's Kirsten Barrett the closest at 9.80 per set. Over the 13-match stretch, Loberg performed at that level, much of it without Gooch, who was lost for the season due to injury in the series opener at Louisiana (nine matches).

Loberg recorded a double-double (37 assists, 10 digs) in the series opening three-set sweep of Southern Miss in a battle of at-the-time division co-leaders, and followed that with a 45-assists, eight-dig performance in the series finale, also a three-set sweep.  For her play in the series, Loberg was named SBC Setter of the Week.

The Geneva, Ill., native followed that up with another Setter of the Week selection – the fourth of her career – the next week. The four selections are tied for the most by a Jaguar setter in program history.

Three times this fall, she recorded 16 assists in a single set, doing so twice against Southern Miss and then against Coastal Carolina last weekend.

Along with Gooch, Gaier helped form one of the most formidable offensive duos in the Sun Belt during the 2025 season. Gaier is currently averaging 3.49 kills per set and 4.11 points per set, ranking seventh and fifth, respectively, in the league – and her 0.38 aces per set are tied for fourth most in the Sun Belt. 

Against SBC foes, Gaier averaged 3.67 kills per set (fourth in the SBC) and 4.45 points per set (fourth in the SBC). She has recorded four or more kills in a set 52 times (49.1 percent of her sets played), including 13 sets with six or more. Gaier has twice recorded nine kills in a set, doing so against both Arkansas State and Coastal Carolina, and has had four or more in 38 of her 58 Sun Belt Conference sets played.

The outside hitter recorded 11 or more kills in all but two of her conference matches, just missing double figures in each as she had nine. Gaier posted a then career-best 21 kills, two aces and eight digs in the series opener with the Red Wolves. The Caledonia, Mich., also posted 20 kills in the series opener at Texas State, and in the series versus James Madison, Gaier recorded 35 total kills. Gaier closed out the regular season with a career-high 26 kills and 14 digs for her second double-double of the season. Against the Chanticleers, Gaier averaged 5.38 kills per set, 3.25 digs per set and 5.81 points per set in the series.

Gooch – a preseason all-league selection – definitely lived up to those accolades during the 2025 season. In her 20 matches this fall, Gooch was posting career numbers: 3.33 kills per set, 3.83 points per set, a .289 hitting percentage, 1.19 digs per set and 43 total blocks – 22 solo and 21 block assists, before suffering the season-ending injury. Her 22 solo blocks were the most of any non-middle blocker, and are still tied for the fourth-most in the SBC this season.

In conference play, Gooch averaged 3.54 kills per set and 4.14 points per set, while hitting .316, all of which rank in the Top 10 of the SBC. At the time of her injury, Gooch ranked in the Top 10 of the Sun Belt in both kills and points, and in league play, and despite not having played in the last seven matches, Gooch still ranks among the conference leaders in kills (eighth) and points (T-eighth).

Gooch led the club offensively nine times and posted 13 double-digit kill matches with five more with eight or more. Gooch also recorded three 20-kill performances this season, and the junior had 32 sets with four or more kills, including 10 of six or more. Her most impressive performance came against Troy where she had 11 kills in a set, and scored seven of South's final eight points to rally the Jags back.

Wilson has been one of the most outstanding backcourt defenders in the Sun Belt this fall. Wilson ranks fourth in the league in digs with 4.41 per set, and in conference play, she is averaging 4.40 per set, which ranks fourth-best as well.

Wilson has record double-digit dig tallies in 26 matches this fall, including 10 of 20 or more. Of her 10, 20-dig matches, seven came against league competition, and she posted at least one 20-dig performance in at least one match of each Sun Belt series this season.

In the series sweep of Southern Miss, she recorded 42 digs and averaged 7.00 digs per set, and was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Wilson recorded four or more digs in all six sets of the series with the Golden Eagles, including three of nine or more, and two in double figures.

Currently, Wilson has 65 sets of 4 or more digs in a set, including 31 of 6 or more. In the season-opener against then-20th ranked Baylor, Wilson posted 12 digs in the opening set. Wilson posted a season-high 27 digs at Samford at the Alabama Showdown on the Bulldogs home floor. 

Entering the SBC Championship, Wilson ranks ninth all-time career digs at South as she has 1,114 for her Jaguar career. 

South Alabama will open postseason play at the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Foley, Ala. The Jaguars – the second seed in the West – will take on Georgia Southern – the third seed in the East – on Friday with first serve set for 7 p.m. at the Foley Event Center.

Sun Belt Conference Preseason Awards
2025 Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Awards
Player of the Year: Kennedy Louisell, James Madison
Libero of the Year: Marta Lazzarin, Georgia State
Setter of the Year: Anna Loberg, South Alabama
Freshman of the Year: Cambria Gaier, South Alabama
Newcomer of the Year: Kennedy Louisell, James Madison 
Coach of the Year: Lauren Steinbrecher, James Madison

All-Sun Belt Conference First Team
Maya Winterhoff, App State
Daedrianna Cail, Arkansas State
Jalyn Stout, Coastal Carolina
Reagan Barth, Georgia Southern
Kirsten Barrett, Georgia Southern
Marta Lazzarin, Georgia State
Kennedy Louisell, James Madison
Anna Loberg, South Alabama
Sadie McAda, Southern Miss
Samantha Wunsch, Texas State
Jade Defraeye, Texas State
Amiah Butler, Troy

All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team
Mia Maloney, Arkansas State
Kaitlin Whitlock, Arkansas State
Emily Fowler, Coastal Carolina
Anna Rita, Coastal Carolina
Alex Myers, Georgia Southern
Maria Cecilia de Pinho, Georgia State
Ayen Nhial, James Madison
Cailin Demps, Louisiana
Beatrice Ciccarelli, Marshall
Cambria Gaier, South Alabama
Briana Wilson, South Alabama
Sarah Gooch, South Alabama

All-Sun Belt Conference Third Team
Addison Collum, Arkansas State
Erin Madigan, Arkansas State
Maddie Cugino, Georgia Southern
Julia McNeley, James Madison
Addie Norman, James Madison
Ana Toumazatos, James Madison
Emma Barnett, Marshall
Brynn Botkin, Southern Miss
Sunni Sheppard, Southern Miss
Maggie Walsh, Texas State
Nina Moorer, Texas State
Bailey Hanner, Texas State

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