Cincinnati's Sydney Nolan (offensive), BYU's Kelli Jo Burgess (defensive), Kansas' Reese Messer (setter) and K-State's Addison Massey (rookie) earned Big 12 volleyball weekly honors for the ninth week of the 2026 season.
Nolan totaled 46 kills across eight sets, averaging 5.75 kills per set while hitting .298 to lead Cincinnati to wins over K-State and Arizona. The senior outside hitter recorded 16 kills on a .417 hitting percentage in the Bearcats' sweep of K-State before posting a career-high 30 kills in a five-set victory over Arizona. Her 30 kills marked the most by a Big 12 player in a match this season and her sixth performance with at least 20 kills. It is her first recognition this season and the second of her career.
Burgess anchored BYU's defense in a pair of ranked victories over then-No. 25 Colorado and then-No. 8 Arizona State with 16 blocks across eight sets, averaging 2.00 blocks per set. The senior middle blocker recorded a match-high nine blocks against the Buffaloes before adding seven against the Sun Devils. Burgess also contributed 14 kills on a .478 hitting percentage, including a .636 clip against Arizona State. It is her fourth award this season.
Messer helped Kansas to two ranked road victories over then-No. 13 TCU and then-No. 24 Baylor, totaling 91 assists and 22 digs across eight sets. The sophomore setter averaged a Big 12-leading 11.38 assists per set and helped the Jayhawks complete their first reverse sweep since November 2022. Messer registered 38 assists and 14 digs in KU's sweep of TCU before dishing out a season-high 53 assists in the five-set comeback victory over Baylor. It is her third weekly award this season.
Massey led all Division I players in kills per set during Week Nine, averaging 6.50 while totaling 39 kills across six sets. The freshman opposite hitter recorded 24 kills on a .432 hitting percentage in K-State's sweep of Texas Tech, setting a school record for the most kills in a three-set match during the rally-scoring era. Her 25.0 points against the Red Raiders tied the program's rally-scoring-era record for a three-set match. Massey also averaged 6.67 points per set during the week, ranking third nationally and first in the Big 12. It is the first weekly award of her career.
Baylor's Ksenia Rakhmanchik, Cincinnati's Viktoria Ninova and West Virginia's Macie Smith joined Nolan, Burgess, Messer and Massey on the Big 12 Starting Seven, which honors strong performances across the league. Rakhmanchik totaled 48 kills and 52 points across Baylor's matches against Houston and Kansas, averaging 4.80 kills per set. Ninova recorded a career-high 34 digs against Arizona, the most by a Big 12 player in a match this season, while helping Cincinnati finish with a program rally-scoring-era record 110 digs. Smith registered 15 kills without an attack error on a nation-leading .556 hitting percentage in West Virginia's four-set win over Arizona, becoming the first Mountaineer freshman to record at least 15 kills without an error in a match.
Big 12 Volleyball Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week: Sydney Nolan, Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Week: Kelli Jo Burgess, BYU
Setter of the Week: Reese Messer, Kansas
Rookie of the Week: Addison Massey, K-State
Big 12 Starting Seven
Ksenia Rakhmanchik, Baylor
Kelli Jo Burgess, BYU (Defensive)
Viktoria Ninova, Cincinnati
Sydney Nolan, Cincinnati (Offensive)
Reese Messer, Kansas (Setter)
Addison Massey, K-State (Rookie)
Macie Smith, West Virginia