COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fourth-year head coach Tara Hittle has been voted the 2025 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Volleyball Coach of the Year, becoming the first coach of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball program to earn the award. She leads seven Mountain Lions who were named to All-RMAC Teams, announced by the conference office on Thursday afternoon.  Payton Tompkins and Nicole Martin garnered All-RMAC First Team accolades, while Sydney Hyde and Maylen Mitrovich received All-RMAC Second Team honors.  Earning RMAC Honorable Mention distinction were Kinley Gomez, Sydnee Walker and Mackenzie Ransom.
 
Caelyn Gunn of Colorado State University is the 2025 RMAC Player of the Year, and her teammate Elena Stankovic is the RMAC Setter of the Year.  The RMAC Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year awards hail from Metropolitan State University of Denver's Alyssa Boyte and Karyna Werley, respectively.
 
The All-RMAC teams and awards are selected by the league's 15 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for themselves or their own players.
 
Hittle and the Mountain Lions are creating a historic season in 2025.  UCCS captured its first RMAC Championship in program history, sharing the league title with MSU Denver after both teams finished 13-1 in conference play. Hittle earned her 50^th career win on Oct. 25 in a five-set home victory over Colorado Christian University. UCCS' 25-2 record is the fourth best in Division II, and the 25 wins are the most ever in a season.  Tuesday's quarterfinal match against Fort Lewis marked the highest seed UCCS has ever had in the tournament (No. 2 seed), and the first time hosting an RMAC Tournament match.  The Mountain Lions' 12-0 record to start the season also marked a new high, and their current 13-match winning streak is the longest in the history of the program.  UCCS also reached new heights on its home court, going undefeated at home for just the second time in program history, while winning a record 13 home matches (13-0). 
 
In her sophomore campaign with the Mountain Lions, outside hitter Payton Tompkins leads the team in kills (3.6 per set) and points (4.1 per set), putting her third overall in the RMAC in both categories.  A native of Dallas, Texas, Tompkins is one of seven Mountain Lions to have played in all 27 matches this season.  Named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27, Tompkins has recorded 22 matches with at least 10 kills, and is hitting the ball at a .271 rate, putting down 346 kills on 910 attempts (99 errors).  In a five-set home win against Colorado Christian that gave coach Hittle her 50^th career win on Oct. 25, Tompkins tallied a career high 25 kills.  She set a new career high in total attempts on Tuesday in a four-set win against Fort Lewis College, accounting for 61 attacks.  Defensively, she is averaging 2.4 digs per set and has stopped 38 attempts at the net.  As a true freshman last year, Tompkins was named to the All-RMAC Second Team.
 
A transfer from Colorado Mesa University, junior middle blocker Nicole Martin is making her second appearance on the All-RMAC First Team after earning the honor last fall with the Mavericks.  A two-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week this season (Sept. 29, Nov. 3), Martin leads all RMAC players in service aces, dishing out 44 aces across 98 sets for a .45 average.  The Colorado Springs, Colo. native has competed in all 27 matches and 98 sets for UCCS, averaging 2.2 kills and .94 blocks per set.   She has tallied at least one block in 25 matches this year, including eight blocks in a five-set win at CMU.  Her 0.94 blocks per set rank her ninth in the league, while her .290 hitting percentage and 3.2 points per set are the 15^th best in the RMAC.
 
True freshman Sydney Hyde of Meridian, Idaho, has quickly made her mark on the Mountain Lions program.  The middle blocker has started and competed in all 27 matches for UCCS and has notched 210 kills (2.1 per set) and is hitting the ball at a solid .310 clip.  At the net, Hyde has 16 solo blocks to her name and has assisted on 71 for a total of 87 blocks (.89 average).  Her .310 hitting percentage is the 11^th best in the league, and her .89 blocks per set rank her 13^th overall. 
 
In her third year with the Mountain Lions, redshirt-senior Maylen Mitrovich earned her first career RMAC Setter of the Week honor on Nov. 3 when she helped UCCS to two wins against Fort Lewis and Colorado School of Mines.  A setter in the Mountain Lions' 6-2 offense, Mitrovich is averaging 5.9 assists per set, marking the ninth most assists in the RMAC.  Primarily a setter, the Rock Hill, S.C. native is also a threat at the net, posting 68 kills and blocking 25 attacks this season.  She is averaging 2.7 digs per set and has served up 33 aces, including a school record eight aces in a sweep over Cal Poly Humboldt on Sept. 5.  She surpassed the 1,000^th career assist milestone in October and owns 1,273 assists at UCCS.
 
From Pueblo, Colo., and a transfer from Northeastern University, outside hitter Kinley Gomez has started eight matches and competed in 25 matches in her first year at UCCS.  She has accounted for 110 kills and a .250 attack percentage across 60 sets.  In three of the last four matches, Gomez has put down at least 10 kills.  Defensively, she has dug up 155 balls and blocked 24 at the net.  She notched a career high of 33 digs this past Tuesday against FLC, which also tied her for the fourth most digs in a four-set match.
 
Sydnee Walker started her junior season with the Mountain Lions, being voted the 2025 UCCS Mountain Lion Classic All-Tournament Team MVP.  A started in 23 of 27 matches, the Kailua, Hawaii native is averaging 2.0 kills, 2.4 points, and .4 blocks per set.  She is nearing 200 kills this season (194) while hitting the ball at a .201 rate.  The outside hitter has accounted for 14 aces, 215 digs, and 33 blocks.  She blocked a career-high five attacks on Oct. 30 at Fort Lewis and tied a career high of 14 kills on the season-opening match against St. Mary's.
 
One of the most stalwart liberos in program history, senior Mackenzie Ransom has recorded more than 1,000 career digs in her four-year career with the Mountain Lions.  Eclipsing the 1,000-career mark at Westminster University on Sept. 26, Ransom ranks seventh all-time in the career record books with 1,221 digs.  Her 97 service aces put her at No. 9 on the all-time list, which she has accomplished in 103 career matches.  Earlier this season, she served up a career-high five aces in a home sweep over Millersville.  In her senior season, the Gilbert, Ariz. native has played in all 27 matches, accounting for 335 digs.  Her 3.5 digs per set ranks her 14^th among all RMAC players. 
 
The No. 2 seed Mountain Lions return to the court tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. when they take on No. 3 seed CSU Pueblo at MSU Denver in the RMAC semifinal match.  The winner between UCCS and CSUP will play the winner between No. 1 seed MSU Denver and No. 5 seed Colorado Mesa on Saturday at 5 p.m.
 
 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.