Bell Ringer female athlete of the year: Sophia Kruczko, AU volleyball
Justin Gray | Sports editor
The Bell Ringer’s 2024 female athlete of the year pick is Sophia Kruczko of the Augusta University volleyball team.
She led the Jaguars to a 21-8 record and the second round of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. Kruczko paced the team in kills with 241 and then was second best with 280 points.
The senior from Cary, N.C., and East Carolina transfer, was selected to the Peach Belt Conference first team, the only Jaguar to accomplish the feat in 2024.
She totaled her career-highs in a match against UNC Pembroke with 18 kills and 18.5 points.
On top of all of the other accolades, Kruczko was named an All-American honorable mention by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Honorable mentions for Female AOTY:
Jada Suguturaga: The graduate student from South Jordan, Utah, averaged 1.45 blocks per set, good enough for fourth-best in the country. She was also a second-team All-PBC selection. Despite a torn ACL suffered two seasons ago, Suguturaga was outstanding both as a blocker and on attack on the offensive side. She finished the 2024 season with 180 kills.
Emily McBride: The Peachtree City native was named to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association all-region squad. She also finished fifth at the Peach Belt Conference meet.
Tomiyah Alford: In her final season of eligibility, Alford posted a scoring average of 13.3 at a 51.7 shooting percentage. The Barnesville (Ga.) product was also named to the second-team all-PBC team.
Kennedy Carroll: The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native was the Southland Conference player of the year and the conference’s overall student-athlete of the year. She led the Jaguars to their third straight SC title—this time winning by a record 67 strokes. She was the medalist by nine strokes. That was the first-ever individual conference championship for the AU women. Carroll led the Jaguars into the East Lansing, Mich., Regional, where they finished ninth.
Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.
Sophia Kruczko led the Jaguars in kills on her way to NCAA D2 honorable mention all-American accolades (photo by Lydia Williams/the Bell Ringer). At the top of the page, Kruczko (8) defends against USC Aiken. (photo by Rachel Carman/the Bell Ringer)
