Spartanburg, S.C. – Western Carolina volleyball made history on Wednesday with the announcement of the league's postseason awards, as junior Katie Boney became the first player in program history to earn the Southern Conference Setter of the Year award, joined in postseason honors by Tatum Sharp as the Rayna Taylor SoCon co-Freshman of the Year as the conference office unveiled the annual awards as voted on by the head coaches.
Wednesday's awards announcement came in advance of the opening round of the 2025 Ingles Southern Conference volleyball championship scheduled for Thursday afternoon, as the league ventures to a neutral location for its postseason championship at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville.
Setter of the year, an award that has been given since 2022, has had four different schools represented as representatives from ETSU, The Citadel, and Mercer each before WCU joined the equation on Wednesday with Boney's recognition.
In addition to sharing top rookie honors with Mercer's Charlotte Thompson, WCU middle blocker Tatum Sharp landed on the SoCon All-Freshman team. Sharp is only the second Catamount to earn top freshman honors, joining Kellyn Thaut back in 2003. The award was named for the 1998 recipient, Rayna Taylor of UNCG, who passed away in February 2000.
Additionally, the 13th Catamount to make the all-freshman team all-time since the league started awarding it in 2008, Sharp is the first Catamount freshman to receive the first-year player honor from the league since 2023, when Logan Carr received the all-freshman honors.
Assuming the primary setter role entering the 2025 season, Boney was a mainstay among the nation's leaders in assists and assists per set throughout the year. She recorded 1,000 assists through the regular season, which paced the SoCon and ranked among the top 40 in the nation entering Thursday's tournament appearance. Boney filled the stat sheet throughout 2025, as she tallied 40 or more assists nine times, including a career-high 64 helpers in a five-set battle against Chattanooga on Oct. 9. Combined, She had at least 21 assists across all 27 WCU matches.
A product of Brookhaven, Ga., Boney was recognized with five SoCon Setter of the Week honors this fall, the first Catamount to garner back-to-back weekly honors from the league since 2019, when Meagan Sanchez received three straight awards. She was also the first Catamount to earn multiple weekly setter plaudits since the spring 2021 season, when Hannah Price received a pair of awards.
Boney recorded a team-high nine double-doubles, five of which occurred in league action. She also became the first Catamount to hit the 1,000-assist mark in a season since 2019, when Hannah Price totaled 1,023 helpers. Early in the season, Boney became the 17th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career assists during the Purple & Gold's five-set comeback win over Bradley during the Blue Ridge Volleyball Classic back in September. She enters the conference tournament with 1,825 career assists, 14th in WCU's record books.
Sharp edged her classmate Samantha Kranzler (226 kills) for the team lead with 234 kills through the conclusion of the regular season
A product of Loveland, Colo, Sharp posted 11 matches 11 or more kills, including a season-high 16 in a five-set win over mountain-rival UNC Asheville. She was also incredibly effective on the offensive end, posting an attack percentage north of .300 a combined 15 times, with a season-best .647 (12 kills on 17 total attacks) in the home win over The Citadel. Sharp enters the week second in the WCU freshman single-season record book for hitting percentage in the rally scoring era (2008-present) at .301 this fall.
Sharp has been a stalwart on the defensive end of the court as well, with 68 rejections, the second-most on the team. Her presence helped create one of the best 1-2 blocks in the league alongside sophomore Courtney Graham, who totaled a team-high 111. Sharp had multiple blocks 19 times, including a pair of five-rejection matches against Kent State (Aug. 29) and Chattanooga (Nov. 7). She also finished second on the squad with 20 service aces.
Western Carolina begins its pursuit of the 2025 SoCon Tournament title on Thursday (Nov. 20) at 4 p.m., facing ninth-seeded The Citadel in the opening round at the Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville. The winner of that match faces the regular-season champion ETSU in the second match of the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 21. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. All tournament matches are to be streamed on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) and live stats provided by a link at CatamountSports.com.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount volleyball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts, @catamountvb), and Twitter (@catamounts, @catamountvb).
2025 All-Southern Conference Volleyball Teams and Awards
Player of the Year: Makayla Bays, ETSU, So., OH
Co-Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year: Charlotte Thompson, Mercer, OH/RS & Tatum Sharp, Western Carolina, MB
Libero of the Year: Laney Klika, Wofford, Jr.
Setter of the Year: Katie Boney, Western Carolina, Jr.
Coach of the Year: Lindsey Devine, ETSU
All-SoCon First Team
Makayla Bays, ETSU, So., OH
Whitley Rammel, ETSU, Sr., MB
Tennyson Gorman, Furman, So., MB
Allie Sweet, UNCG, So., OH
Kaleigh Meritt, Samford, R-Jr., OH
Sydney Jackwin, Chattanooga, Sr., OH
Bradley Brown, Wofford, So., MB
All-SoCon Second Team
Brianna Cantrell, ETSU, Sr., OH
Ashley Stein, Furman, So., OH
Izzy Castelloe, Furman, Jr., MB
Ally Cordes, Samford, Jr., OH
Laney Klika, Wofford, Jr., LIB
Annemarie Rakoski, Wofford, Sr., MB
Chloe Smith, Wofford, So., OH
All-Freshman Team
Sophie Davis, ETSU, OH
Bailey Gohlke, ETSU, S
Charlotte Thompson, Mercer, OH/RS
Connore' Siler-Nixon, UNCG, MB
Sydney Waller, Samford, OPP
Jordin Glass, Chattanooga, MB
Tatum Sharp, Western Carolina, MB
