CLEMSON, S.C. – Setter Katherine Sandt, middle hitter Kate Hansen and liberos McKenna Gildon and Claire Luoma were named Academic All-District selections, the College Sports Communicators (CSC) announced Tuesday. Hansen and Sandt earned the honor for the second-straight year, while Gildon and Luoma are first-time honorees.
CSC Release
Sandt, who was a two-time ACC Co-Setter of the Week in 2025, is pursuing a degree in accounting and started every match this season at setter. The Western Springs, Ill., native tallied 1,098 assists to power the Clemson offense. She also clocked a team-high 31 aces, added 62 kills and blocked 43 attacks. Contributing 15 double doubles on the year, she finished second on the team with 316 digs while accumulating 117.5 points. Sandt rounded out the year by sitting just outside of Clemson’s top 10 in career assists with 1,833 through two seasons with the program.
Hansen majored in sociology and started in all 32 games for the Tigers in 2025. She finished with a team-high .335 hitting percentage with 242 total kills (2.28 per set). The Weatherford, Texas native was one of six Tigers to clock double-digit aces, recording 17 on the year, and added 88 digs. Highlighting her final season with the Tigers, Hansen clocked a team-high 15 solo blocks to contribute to her 86 total on the year and 278 on her career. On her career, she accumulated 680 points with the addition of 470 career kills and 44 aces.
Gildon is working towards a degree in communications and was the only player to appear in all 116 sets this season. The junior racked up a team-high 455 digs (3.92 per set) to lead the program’s defensive efforts to the most cumulative digs since 2013. The Plano, Texas native was crowned the program’s first-ever ACC Defensive Player of the Week. She finished the year with double-digit digs in 24 matches and recorded a career-high 26 digs and 11 assists against Charleston Southern. Additional contributions came from 18 aces and 141 assists throughout the year.
Luoma rounds out the Tiger honorees as a pre-business major and appeared in all 32 matches, starting seven, during the 2025 campaign. The sophomore finished with double-digit digs in seven matches, including a career-high 15 digs in the season finale at Florida State. In total, she concluded the season with 209 digs. The Franklin, Wis., native rounded out her stats with 23 aces and 29 assists on the year.
To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must maintain at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and compete in 90 percent of the institution’s matches played OR must start at least 66 percent of the institution’s matches.
