Thao Named Co-Libero of the Year to Highlight Asheville’s All-Conference Honors

BIG SOUTH RELEASE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South Conference announced its 2025 All-Conference Teams on Wednesday (Nov. 19) and UNC Asheville's Michelle Thao has been named Co-Libero of the Year to highlight the Bulldogs' end of season honors.

Thao earned First Team All-Conference Honors to go along with her Libero of the Year title. Kylie Cackovic earned Honorable Mention All-Conference honors and Albertine van der Goot earned Honorable Mention and Academic All-Conference honors.

Thao is the first Libero of the Year honoree in program history and the first player to be recognized for their on-the-court performance with a Big South Major Award since 2000, when Kelly Budnik earned Freshman of the Year. The program had Scholar Athlete of the Year honorees in 2023 (Ona Elkins) and 2021 (Grace Volk).

Thao has had a standout 2025 season as she played in all 27 matches and 99 sets during the regular season. In 27 matches, she has recorded 484 digs (4.89 per set), tallied 24 aces, and achieved a stellar .955 reception percentage across 514 receptions. Thao is No. 18 in the nation in digs per set and No. 31 in total digs. She earned her 1,000th career dig as a Bulldog on Oct. 17, and has earned Big South Libero of the Week honors three times. Thao had a season-high 34 digs against Charleston Southern on Oct. 3, and four aces against Gardner-Webb on Oct. 10.

Kylie Cackovic leads Asheville with 287 kills, averaging 3.05 kills per set. Cackovic is No. 5 in the Big South in kills. She is second on the team behind Thao with 197 digs, averaging 2.10 a set. She has 25 total blocks and 13 aces. She had a season-high 18 kills against UNC Greensboro on Sept. 20 and a season-high 13 digs against High Point on Oct. 17. Cackovic has 794 kills, 541 digs and 48 aces in her Bulldog career.

Albertine van der Goot is second on the team with 205 kills, averaging 2.09 a set and leads Asheville with 80 total blocks, ranking ninth in the league, averaging 0.82 a set. She recorded a career-high .667 hitting percentage in Asheville's victory over USC Upstate this past Friday (Nov. 14) and matched her career-high of seven blocks against UNC Greensboro on Sept. 20. Van der Goot is a junior from Oosthem, Netherlands, and is a chemistry major and neuroscience minor. This is her second All-Academic honors and her third time earning All-Conference honors, as she was named to the All-Freshman team in 2023.

Asheville's three honorees marks the most players for the program to earn Big South honors since 2018 (Cara Guthrie- 1st Team, Julia Borges- 2nd Team, Grace Volk- Freshman Team).

The Bulldogs will be back in action on Friday (Nov. 21), as Asheville takes on USC Upstate in the first round of the Big South Conference Tournament at 3 p.m. in High Point, N.C.

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