SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 17, 2025) – The Western New England women's volleyball team landed three names on the 2025 College Sport Communicators  (CSC) Academic All-District Team this season, seeing Rachel Critz, Léa Barber, and Laney Melvin receive honors this season. Laney is a two-time honoree, while Critz and Barber receive honors for the first time in their careers. 

The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women's Volleyball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.

In order to be considered for CSC Academic All-District honors, a student-athlete must have attained a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.50 or higher on a 4.0 scale. The student-athlete must also have been a sophomore academically and athletically, and have played a significant number of matches with their team, either played in 90% of the team's matches, or have started in 66%. 

Critz played in all 28 matches for the Golden Bears during the 2025 season, playing in all 101 sets. The Kingston, Massachusetts, native put down a career-high 165 kills, hitting 0.332% from the floor. Critz made 380 attacks on the year while picking up six set assists and 13 service aces. Defensively, Critz earned 25 digs, 73 total blocks at the net, 61 assists, and 12 solo blocks, and accounted for 220.5 points on the year for the Blue and Gold. In the classroom, Critz is a health sciences major.

Barber played in 25 of Western New England's 28 matches on the season, playing in and making starts in the 90 sets played. Barber picked up right where she left off from the 2024 season on the court, producing 296 kills over 1,016 attacks, hitting 0.122% from the floor. Barber picked up ten set assists and 45 service aces during the season. The Bethany, Connecticut native also added 292 digs defensively, along with 30 total blocks, all assisted, and accounted for 356 total points on the year for WNE women's volleyball. Barber is a sophomore at Western New England studying general business. 

Melvin competed in 26 matches on the season for Western New England, playing in 84 sets overall. The defensive specialist was used heavily in the service game for the Golden Bears, which ranked in the top half of the Conference of New England in 2025. Melvin recorded 22 service aces on the season while contributing 39 digs overall. Over her three years at Western New England, Melvin has picked up 99 digs and 51 service aces over 195 sets played.

The three Golden Bears selected in one season are the most in program history, following two selected a season ago. The Blue and Gold recorded nine wins in 2025, picking up two conference wins.