ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Honorable Mention All-American Audrey Spolidoro of the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team, who exhibited leadership, strong work ethic and excellence in both the classroom and competition, has earned the 2024-25 CSB "Athlete of the Year" honor.

Spolidoro was among 12 CSB "Athlete of the Year" nominees, who contributed significantly to the success of teams in showing leadership while excelling in competition as well as the classroom. Aside from Spolidoro, this group includes: Sabriya Farquharson, outdoor track and field; Justus Floren, indoor track and field; Catherine Jance, golf; Sophia Jonas, basketball and tennis; Lucy Lyngen, cross country; Mary Morris, swimming and diving; Ava Mosley, lacrosse; Bryn Ruhberg, softball; Jenna Timm, hockey; and Alli Voss, soccer.

She is the first member of the CSB volleyball program to earn the departmental honor since Hunter Weiss was honored in 2019-20. In total, volleyball has 15 CSB "Athlete of the Year" honorees since the award was established in 1983-84.

A global business leadership major, Spolidoro of Cottage Grove, Minn., graduated in May, 2025. In the 2024 season, she helped lead CSB to its first MIAC playoff title and first NCAA appearance since 2019. During that special season, she earned All-MIAC, AVCA All-Region and AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors for her efforts. In addition, she was also named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team and earned Academic All-MIAC honors for a third straight time.

"Audrey's role as a setter naturally placed her in a leadership position, and we are incredibly proud of how she grew into that role throughout her four years in our program. As the only senior this year, Audrey took on the responsibility of mentoring our first-year setters and played a crucial role in guiding the team and contributing to its success," said CSB head volleyball coach Nicole Hess. "Along with her teammates, she helped create a strong presence on the court, which contributed to the team's overall performance and led to a MIAC tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth."

In 27 games and 106 sets in 2024, Spolidoro had 77 kills, 33 service aces and 352 digs or 3.32 per set. She registered 51 total blocks. Twenty times this year and 56 times in her career, she achieved double doubles. She finished her career with 3,503 career assists (6^th, all-time at CSB) and 1,104 digs and she was just the third volleyball player in school history to achieve 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs. Spolidoro also had 94 career service aces and 124 total blocks.

She was named CSB's first Honorable Mention All-American since 2017 when Megan Pekarek was honored with her second Honorable Mention All-American honor (2015, 2017). Spolidoro was the 12^th Bennie to earn Honorable Mention All-American honors from the AVCA.

"Audrey finished her time in a Bennie uniform by playing the best volleyball of her career. Her leadership, work ethic, and ability to consistently raise the bar were critical to the success we achieved this year. We are thankful for all she did to elevate Saint Benedict volleyball during her time on campus, and her growth as both a leader and a player leaves a lasting impact that we are grateful for," said Hess.

A three-time All-MIAC honoree, Spolidoro was one of three players who received All-MIAC distinction for the third time, a feat achieved by 63 volleyball players in recorded conference history. Spolidoro and her teammates finished 8-3 in the MIAC for fourth place.

Late in the season, St. Benedict won seven straight games and 12-of-14 to reach the national tourney. The run included winning the MIAC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2017 as CSB defeated fifth-seeded Augsburg, 3-2, at home before sweeping both the No. 1 seed Gustavus Adolphus and No. 2 seed St. Catherine on the road. Led by Spolidoro, the Bennies finished the tourney by winning their final seven sets.

Five times in her career, including three times this year, Spolidoro was named MIAC Specialty Player of the Week. She also earned selection to the MIAC All-Playoff Team in 2024. She ranked second in the MIAC and 25^th in NCAA DIII with 9.79 assists per set with 1,038 assists also second in the MIAC and 31st in DIII. With 1,038 set assists this season, she bettered her career best in 2022.