MEDFORD, MA (November 26, 2025) -- The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its postseason honors over the last week, and sophomore right side
Maiwenn Kamdje was named as the AVCA Region 1 Player of the Year, while her and two others picked up AVCA All-American accolades.
Kamdje was named to the AVCA All-American Second Team, while junior
Claire Castor and senior
Julia Griffiths were each picked to the Honorable Mention list. Those three were All-Region 1 First Team honorees as well, while junior setter
Rianna Liu was an Honorable Mention All-Region selection.
Kamdje becomes the first Tufts player to earn Region I Player of the Year since Cate Desler in 2021, while Kamdje was the third all-time Region 1 Player of the Year joining Desler and Maddie Stewart in 2019.
The left-handed right side was an offensive force for the Jumbos, as he led the squad with 2.66 kills per set while hitting .270 for the season. Kamdje also posted 66 blocks on the year.
Kamdje had 17 matches with double-digit kills, led by a massive 19 terminations in a five-set win over Wesleyan University to end the regular season. She was voted to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team, also helping Tufts to its fourth New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) crown.
Castor was named as an All-American Honorable Mention and First Team All-Region honoree after chalking up 261 kills overall on the season. Castor hit a strong .201 on the outside, while finishing third on the team in service aces and third in digs.
Castor had eight double-doubles on the year, including one in the NCAA Regional Semifinal against Kean University. She posted a season-high 16 terminations against Connecticut College, and had 13 kills in four other outings. Castor was a First Team All-NESCAC player and NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team award winner.
Griffiths was one of the best defensive middles in Division III, earning AVCA All-Region First Team and Honorable Mention All-American for the first time in her career. Griffiths was fourth in total kills on the team with 123, hitting .309 for the season, while finishing with 113 total rejections. Griffiths was 15th in the country in blocks per set, and had a huge career-high 11 blocks in a win over Babson. Griffiths also had 12 blocks in the NCAA Tournament including six against Kean University in the NCAA Regional semifinal.
Liu was also tabbed to the AVCA Regional Honorable Mention, as she was the catalyst for the offensive unit for the Jumbos. Tufts lost just two matches all season when Liu was in the lineup, as she totaled 5.82 assists per set during the season. After Liu returned to the lineup late in October, the Jumbos would win every match she played in until the NCAA Regional Final against top-ranked East Texas Baptist University.
Tufts finished the season 24-6 overall, winning the NESCAC for the fourth time while advancing to the NCAA Regional final for the second time in four seasons.
--JUMBOS--
