The Big 12 conference named outside hitter Avah Armour as an All-Big 12 First Team selection and the 2025 Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
Armour is the first UCF volleyball player to earn both first team and
scholar-athlete recognition since the program joined the Big 12 in 2023.
She is one of 18 athletes selected to the first team after posting a season high 457 kills, and her 4.35 kills per set ranked seventh in the conference and 32nd nationally.
The 6-foot-5 junior recorded double-digit kills in 26 of UCF’s 29 matches, including a 14-match streak from Sept. 19 to Nov. 8. She also contributed defensively with 208 digs and 46 blocks.
Armour, a junior finance major, holds a 3.94 GPA, placing her among the athletic program’s highest academic performers. Coursework for students at that level in the major includes upper-division classes in financial analysis, accounting and economics.
“Ava has built herself into one of the top outside hitters in the nation, and I am so happy to see her being recognized for what she has accomplished,” UCF Head Coach Matt Botsford told UCF Athletics. “She has shouldered a heavy load for us all season long and has done a remarkable job at maintaining a high level throughout.”
Freshman libero Alexa Haley was was also recognized and voted to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team.
Haley made history this season when was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first freshman to receive the conference defensive award since Oklahoma’s Callie Kemohah did so on Oct. 5, 2021.
The freshman emerged as the team’s libero after starting libero Sophia Kotsovolos was injured just before the start of Big 12 play. Haley finished with a team-leading 319 digs and her 3.71 digs per set in conference matches ranked eighth.
Haley’s performance during UCF’s sweep of Houston and No. 24 Iowa State in Orlando — 32 combined digs and holding both teams below a .200 hitting percentage — earned her the weekly conference honor.
Haley is one of just two liberos to earn a spot on the All-Rookie Team, alongside Baylor’s Morgan Madison.
“Lexi’s transition into the college game was remarkable, but I don’t think any of us on staff would consider it surprising,” Botsford told UCF Athletics. “Wearing that libero jersey comes with a lot of responsibility, which is a lot to ask of anyone, let alone a freshman.”
The UCF volleyball team finished the season 17–12 overall and 8–10 in Big 12 play, a significant improvement from 2024, when the Knights went 9–18 overall and just 2–15 in conference play.
