Pichelman Named #HLVB First Teamer, Koning All-Freshman, and Kendall Schara Earns Sportsmanship Award

11/20/2025 1:00:00 PM

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Horizon League announced the Valeo 2025 Volleyball All-League awards on Friday afternoon, and three Green Bay players collected honors.
Diane Pichelman headlined the list for the Phoenix, being named All-Horizon League First Team. Gillian Koning was named to the All-Freshman Team, and Kendall Schara won the Horizon League Sportsmanship Award.

Pichelman has been the most consistent Phoenix performer this season, leading the team with kills with 304, including a hitting percentage of .313. That hitting percentage is the fourth-best mark in the league. Pichelman also ranks in the Horizon League top-15 in kills (8th), aces (11th), points (6th), and blocks (6th).

Gillian Koning has been a mainstay in the Green Bay lineup and came on especially strong at the end of the year. Koning ranks 14th in the Horizon League with 277 kills on the year. She has hit double-figure kills in 14 of the last 20 matches, including a big final weekend against Robert Morris, where she averaged 15 kills per match in a pair of crucial wins.

Kendall Schara's Mom, Shelley Schara
"In April of 2025, Kendall was living her best life as a 21-year-old student-athlete. She started having a few medical issues around the 8th of April, which included an emergency wisdom tooth removal and a week or so later some stomach pain, which sent her to the hospital for some tests. On April 25th, she found out her diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Kendall was transferred the next day to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago to be closer to her family and to start treatment. AML has three different phases of treatment: induction, consolidation, and transplant. We are lucky enough that Kendall made it through the first 2 phases without having to repeat either phase. This led her to the stem cell transplant phase, for which her younger sister was a perfect match and able to be her donor. Her transplant went very well, and after months of being in the hospital, Kendall was allowed to officially go home on August 17th. She is now in a maintenance phase of remission with weekly doctor appointments, which should taper off in time.

Throughout her journey, Kendall has always remained positive. Her strength and courage have inspired so many people. Kendall is a person who accomplishes anything she puts her mind to, and this is just another great example of that."

The Phoenix will continue its season with the Horizon League Championships hosted at Northern Kentucky this weekend. Green Bay will square off with No. 3 Youngstown State in the tournament's quarterfinals tomorrow at 2 p.m. CST.

2025 Horizon League Volleyball Award Winners
Player and Offensive Player of the Year: Abbie Householder, Youngstown State
Defensive Player of the Year: Jasmine Purakal, RMU
Setter of the Year: Grace Purichia, IU Indianapolis
Freshman of the Year: Abby Pickard, Northern Kentucky
Sportsmanship Award: Kendall Schara, Green Bay
Coach of the Year: Liz Hart, Northern Kentucky

All-League First Team
Diane Pichelman, Green Bay
Morgan Ostrowski, IU Indianapolis
Grace Purichia, IU Indianapolis
Kara Erdmann, Milwaukee
Sydney Bray, Northern Kentucky
Abby Pickard, Northern Kentucky
Allison Risley, Northern Kentucky
Jasmine Purakal, RMU
Lauren Yacobucci, Wright State
Reilly Zegunis, Wright State
Abbie Householder, Youngstown State
Gabriela Machin, Youngstown State

All-League Second Team
Jillian Tippmann, IU Indianapolis
Josie Noble, Milwaukee
Riley Rosneck, Purdue Fort Wayne
Jocelyn Jourdan, RMU
Mya Ayro, Wright State
Katie Sowko, Wright State

All-Freshman Team
Gillian Koning, Green Bay
Laura Roeder, IU Indianapolis
Jillian Tippmann, IU Indianapolis
Josie Noble, Milwaukee
Abby Pickard, Northern Kentucky
Kameron Blizniak, Youngstown State
Layne Graffice, Youngstown State

Sportsmanship Award Finalists
Kendall Schara, Green Bay*
Jordyn Pax, IU Indianapolis
Julia Kellner, Milwaukee
Kendall Hopewell, Northern Kentucky
Delaney Stern, Oakland
Becky Barrett, Purdue Fort Wayne
Kaitlyn Brown, RMU
Elena Dubuc, Wright State
Maria Insana, Youngstown State

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