UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa, -- Penn State junior Kennedy Martin has been named as one of 14 finalists for the AVCA Division I Women’s Volleyball National Player of the Year award. This is the second year the AVCA has announced semifinalists in advance of the announcement of the award winner and it is the second year Martin made the list.
Martin has been the most prolific offensive player in the Big Ten and near the top of the nation all season. She currently ranks first in the conference and third nationally in both points/set (6.05) and kills/set (5.24) and is doing so with an efficient .309 hitting percentage. She also ranks fourth in the Big Ten in total aces with 35, including 15 over the past six matches.
Martin has had numerous huge matches for the Nittany Lions this season, including 11 matches with 20-plus kills. Of those 11 occurrences, she hit better than .300 eight times and better than .400 four times.
Martin has often taken over in individual sets this season, recording eight or more kills in a set 11 times. She hit .583 with 15 kills in the fourth set of a match against UCLA. She was even more dominant in a fifth-set win over No. 17 USC, factoring in on each of Penn State’s final eight points with six kills and two blocks.
Three times this season Martin was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. She picked up AVCA National Player of the Week recognition once after hitting .438 and averaging 7.36 points, 6.71 kills, 2.14 digs, and 0.71 blocks per set in wins over No. 7 Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Martin and No. 25 Penn State are back in action this weekend when they travel to play No. 9 Purdue on Friday and Illinois on Sunday.
The 2025 Penn State women’s volleyball season is presented by Musselman’s.