Troy Sports Information

TROY, Ala. — Following one of the most dominant seasons in conference and school history, Tori Hester  (West Rowan) was named the Sun Belt Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Sun Belt, the conference announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Hester is the first Troy player to win an individual postseason Sun Belt award and is the just the fourth player in the conference’s history to be named both Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in the same season. Hester has also been named to the First-Team All-Sun Belt in three straight seasons.

She led the Sun Belt in kills (508), points (577.5), kills per set (5.08), points per set (5.78) and service aces (40). Nationally, she was top six in kills, points, kills per set and points per set.

“I’m so grateful to the Sun Belt coaches for recognizing Tori’s remarkable season, especially given the number of talented players in the conference this year,” head coach Josh Lauer said. “These awards for Tori come after five years of hard work, sacrifice and commitment to our team and her teammates. To be able to have your very best year be your last is rare and very special. To be named Sun Belt Player of the Year truly caps off one of the greatest single seasons by a Troy player in the history of the program and cements Tori’s place among the very best student-athletes to every compete at Troy, regardless of sport. I could not be prouder of her. I’m thankful to have been her coach and can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next.”

Hester is the only player in the Sun Belt with more than 400 kills and more than 5.00 kills per set in 2024. The senior outside hitter recorded double-figure kills in every single match this season and has recorded at least 10 kills in the last 48 matches dating back to last season, which is the longest known active streak in Division I women’s volleyball. Hester has recorded 20 or more kills in 11 matches this season, and 30 or more kills in four matches.

In conference play Hester had 349 kills (5.37 k/s), leading the next closest player by 59 kills. Her 5.37 k/s was 0.45 clear of second place. She also had 389.0 points, which was 70 points clear of anyone else. There were five instances of a Sun Belt player recording 30 or more kills in a conference match this season, and Hester had four of those.

In the final four matches of the regular season, Hester recorded 120 kills. In Troy’s series sweep over Southern Miss, Hester recorded 33 on Thursday night and 30 on Friday night. In Troy’s very next match at home against App State, she had 35 kills — one shy of tying the program record for a single match. Her 35 kills were the most by a Sun Belt player in a match this season and was tied for the sixth most in a five-set match by any player in the country.

Hester became Troy’s all-time leader in kills, kills per set and points this season.

On defense, Hester was impressive as well. She had 11 double-doubles (kills-digs). In her 33-kill showing against Southern Miss she had a season-high 22 digs. She also recorded a career-high 45 blocks this season (14 solo, 31 assists).

Hester and Troy are back in action on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. for the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament in Foley, Ala. The Trojans are the No. 4 seed in the west, and will go against Georgia State, the No. 5 seed in the east. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats available on TroyTrojans.com.

2024 Sun Belt Volleyball Awards

Player of the Year:Tori Hester, Troy
Offensive Player of the Year:Tori Hester, Troy
 
First-Team All-Sun Belt
• Maya Winterhoff, App State
• Daedrianna Cail, Arkansas State
• Sarah Martinez, Arkansas State
• Jalyn Stout, Coastal Carolina
• Reagan Barth, Georgia Southern
• Brenya Reid, James Madison
• Abryanna Cannon, South Alabama
• Anna Loberg, South Alabama
• Jade Defraeye, Texas State
• Ryann Torres, Texas State
• Smanatha Wunsch, Texas State
• Tori Hester, Troy