Maya Sands Named College Sports Communicators All-American
1/13/2026 11:00:00 AM | Volleyball
This is Sands first CSC All-American Honor
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou volleyball student-athlete Maya Sands (Rock Falls, Ill.) was selected to the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-American second team, the organization announced Tuesday, Jan. 13.
The 2025 Academic All-American 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.
Sands is now an Academic All-American for the first time in her career, having been part of the All-District team for three straight seasons.
The Rock Falls, Illinois native, is graduating with a Bachelor's in Parks, Recreation, & Sport: Sport Management at Mizzou. Academically, she has been a part of the Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll every year since joining the Black & Gold (2023-24).
During her senior year, she ranked first during the conference slate with 274 digs (4.72 digs/set). Sands also recorded the highest number of digs in conference play for a single game, as she set a new career high with 32 against South Carolina (10/24).
Sands paced the rest of the SEC by over 70 digs at the end of the regular season and ended her senior year with 511 digs and led the league with 4.69 digs per set.
The libero ended her career with 1,588 digs with the Tigers, ranking her third in program history. She finished with 4.64 digs per set in her three years, putting her first in program history.
In her career, she ended up with 2,000 career digs (4.41 digs/set), 436 assists (.96 assists/set) and 122 service aces (.27 SA/set). As she was named an AVCA All-American third teamer in 2025 and an honorable mention All-American in 2024, she is also a three-time AVCA All-Region performer and a three-time All-SEC honoree (2025; All-SEC second team, 2023-24; All-SEC first team).
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