RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Before the Great American Conference Tournament began, the GAC released their 2026 GAC Volleyball Awards, as reported by the office on Tuesday.

Kaylon Partain highlights the awards for the Reddies this season, having collected her second straight second team All-Conference honors. Kelis Battles was named to the All-GAC honorable mentions.

Partain makes the second team after another standout season defensively. The Atlanta, Texas native led the nation in digs with 767 on the year. No other player in Division II reached 700 digs this season, nor did any other player average more than 7 digs per set, and Partain averaged 7.17 digs per set. Beyond her abilities to defend the court, Partain also recorded 80 assists on the season, the third most on the team. When serving, Partain was also incredibly effective, leading the Reddies in service aces this season with 28.

Battles was the only other Reddie given an All-Conference honor this season, earning an honorable mention. The Little Rock, Arkansas native was the offensive leader for the Reddies this season, leading the team with 325 kills, which ranked fourth in the GAC this season. Battles also ranked eighth in the nation, and third in the GAC in total attacks with 1183. The sophomore also ranked second behind Partain with 25 service aces on the season. Defensively, Battles contributed 439 digs on the season, the seventh-most in the conference, and second behind Partain's incredible season. She also recorded 24 blocks, nine of which were solo, contributing to the best blocking team in the GAC.

Beyond the court, Maddie Howard was honored with being named an Elite Scholar Student-Athlete, one of only seven athletes named with the honor. This award is given only to student-athletes with the highest GPA, with a minimum of 70 credit hours.

Additionally, Henderson State had 10 players named to the GAC Academic Honor Roll, which honors all scholar-athletes at GAC schools with a GPA of at least 3.5 and one full year or more of college residency. HSU's honorees are listed below.

GAC All-Academic Honor Roll:
Berkeley Berry
Emily Bustillos
Milaya Graves
Karsen Hart
Jenna Heindselman
Maddie Howard
Meadow Jones
Alyssa Lindeman
Kaylon Partain
Brooke Phillips