NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's
Kennedy Wade was announced Wednesday as a 2022 All-Louisiana women's volleyball first-team selection.
A Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel of
college publicists selected the team and major awards.
Wade — a 5-foot-9 outside hitter from
Gainesville, Fla., and a graduate of Buchholz High School — hit .242 with
356 kills, 38 aces, 275 digs, 23 blocks and nine kill-dig double-doubles in 30 matches for a 21-9 Gold Nuggets team that
won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament
and, for the 12th consecutive season, earned an automatic bid to NAIA nationals.
Wade led the RRAC in kills, kills per set (3.71) and hitting percentage, and she was fifth in digs and digs per set (2.86).
Wade's previous 2022 honors included AVCA NAIA All-America third team, AVCA NAIA All-Southcentral Player of the Year and
RRAC Player of the Year and Attacker of the Year. Wade was
XULA's first volleyball player to earn All-America — third team or higher — and the first to earn region player of year.
Wade tied the
school record of 27 kills in a match and became the third player in program history to reach 350 kills and
275 digs in the same season. She scored the final two points of the RRAC Tournament final —
kills that rallied XULA from a 13-9 fifth-set deficit against top-seeded Our Lady of the Lake.
All-Louisiana women's volleyball teams
date to 1986. Wade is XULA's ninth to be chosen to the second team or higher
and the sixth to make the first team.
Wade will be a senior in 2023. XULA will open the season
Aug. 25 in the CC Hampton Inn Classic at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo.
The Gold Nuggets will play at noon CDT against the host school, then play John Brown at 4 p.m.
2022 All-Louisiana Women's Volleyball Team
First Team
Anita Anwusi, LSU
Sanaa Dotson, LSU
Kendall Glueck, McNeese
Kailin Newsome, Southeastern Louisiana
Reaghan Thompson, Northwestern State
Bailey Tillman, McNeese
Kennedy Wade, XULA
Second Team
Amaya Bazemore, Loyola (N.O.)
Coco Gillett, Louisiana-Lafayette
Cami Hicks, Louisiana-Lafayette
Cicily Hidalgo, Southeastern Louisiana
Sanni Rantanen, McNeese
Emily Sheperis, Loyola (N.O.)
Madeline Williams, Louisiana-Monroe
Player of the Year: Kailin Newsome, Southeastern Louisiana
Libero of the Year: Bailey Tillman, McNeese
Newcomer of the Year: Amaya Bazemore, Loyola (N.O.)
Freshman of the Year: Reaghan Thompson, Northwestern State
Coach of the Year: Jeremy White, Southeastern Louisiana
Honorable Mention
Kara Barnes, Louisiana-Lafayette;
Sophia Ewalefo, New Orleans;
Codi Fillmore, Dillard;
Kayla Kaiser, Tulane;
Jaycie Proctor, Centenary;
Sheilah Purcell, New Orleans;
Ashlyn Svoboda, Northwestern State
Kennedy Wade photo by Yamlak Tsega
