INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - After a record-breaking regular season, Oakland women's volleyball libero Emily Wichmann was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and earned All-League First Team honors, while Gentry Brown was named to the All-Freshman Team and Patti Cesarini was recognized on the All-League Second Team. Additionally, Anika Prisby was announced as a finalist for the Horizon League Sportsmanship Award.
 
Wichmann is the third player in school history to earn the honors of Defensive Player of the Year and first since Taylor Humm was recognized in 2014.
 
The Crescent Springs, Ky., native earned her first All-League honors after a dominant run in the regular season. Wichmann played in all 30 matches this season and was named an Under Armour #HLVB Player of the Week on Oct. 30. The defensive specialist set Oakland's single-season dig record (638) this year for best in the league and 67 more than the player behind her. She outpaced Alli Kirk (2012) who originally broke the Oakland record with 622 digs. Currently, Wichmann sits second in the nation in total digs and eighth across the NCAA in digs per set (5.41). She set a career-high against Green Bay with 37 digs, good for t-4th in Oakland history for most digs in a match. With a career total of 1,384 digs, Wichmann is sixth all-time in the Oakland women's volleyball record book for career digs.
 
The junior also ranks second on the team in service aces (28) and is third on the Golden Grizzlies in assists (138).
 
Named to the All-Freshman Team, Brown hit at a .151 mark and finished third on the team and first among freshmen in kills (210) and second-best on the team in kills per set (2.41). With her honors, the outside hitter became the 16th freshman in school history to earn the award and first since 2020. She recorded a career-high 14 kills in a 3-2 set win over Cleveland St. which helped the team finish the season with a 17-13 overall record and 11-7 in conference play. Its 17 overall wins and 11 league wins is the most in a season since 2017.
 
Cesarini, a senior out of La Grange Park, Ill., earned All-League honors for the second-straight year. Earlier this week, the outside hitter was named to the All-Academic Team for the second-straight season as well. This season, she eclipsed the 1,000 kill mark (1,205) after she tacked on 347 kills on the season for most on the team. Cesarini now sits fourth in the Oakland record book in total kills and is 39 behind Melissa Deatsch (2013-16) in third. She's ranked 11th in the league for kills per set (2.97) and her season total is seventh best in the conference. With 37 service aces, Cesarini leads the team and ranks in the top 10 in the league along with top 10 in the Oakland history book for most in a season.

Also recognized, Prisby, the sophomore middle blocker was named a finalist for the Horizon League Sportsmanship Award. In her second year with the Golden Grizzlies, Prisby topped 14 kills against Wright State for a career best and payed in all but two matches on the year. She's totaled 69.0 blocks on the year for second-best on the team, with 10 solo blocks to her name.
 
Wichmann, Brown, Cesarini and Prisby, along with the rest of the Golden Grizzlies women's volleyball team, embark on its journey to claim a second-ever Horizon League Conference tournament title with a quarterfinal matchup against Northern Kentucky. First serve is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on ESPN+.