NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut volleyball standout Kimi Mitchell was named the Northeast 10 Conference Rookie of the Year, as announced by the NE10 on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025. Mitchell is the first player in program history in earn NE10 Rookie of the Year honors. In addition, Mitchell was also named to the All-NE10 Second Team and the All-Rookie Team. Standouts Sydney Bennett and Kerrigan Habing were also named to the All-NE10 Second Team.

Kimi Mitchell has made a strong impact in her first year with the Owls. She is ranked fourth in the NE10 in assists with an average of 7.21 assists per set and is ranked seventh in hitting percentage with .297. Mitchell is top five on the team in kills, digs, blocks and aces. She has a team-best of 606 assists, 152 digs, 106 kills, 24 service aces and 20 blocks. In addition, she leads the team in double-doubles with six. Mitchell totaled a career-best of 46 assists in a 3-2 victory over Pace. She recorded a career-best of 12 kills in the 3-1 NE10 Quarterfinals victory over Saint Michael's on Tuesday.
 
Sydney Bennett earned All-NE10 Second Team honors for her impressive, dominate play this season with Southern Connecticut.  Bennett is ranked fourth in the NE10 in hitting percentage with .322, is ranked fifth in blocks with a total of 80, is ranked eighth in kills with an average of 2.73 kills per set and is ranked seventh in points with an average of 3.40 points per set. She leads the Owls with 80 blocks and is second on the team in kills with 227. Bennett holds the best attack percentage in a single match in the NE10 this season with a .786 against Caldwell. She recorded a career-best of 16 kills against Assumption and totaled a career-best of six block assists against Molloy.
 
Kerrigan Habing earned All-NE10 Second Team honors for her outstanding play in her first year with the Owls. In the NE10, Habing is ranked third in kills with an average of 3.17 kills per set and is ranked sixth in points with an average of 3.54 points per set. She is in the top five of digs, assists, service aces and blocks for the Owls. Habing leads the Owls with 266 kills, has a total of 171 digs, 33 assists, 28 blocks and 14 service aces. In addition, she has the second-most double-doubles on the team, with five. Habing recorded a career-best of 24 kills and a career-best of 14 digs in a 3-2 victory over Pace. She notched back-to-back double-doubles in one day, with 12 kills and 10 digs against Jefferson and 19 kills and 13 digs in a 3-2 win against Millersville.
 
Mitchell, Bennett and Habing will be back in action for the Owls on Friday, Nov. 21 at 5:00 pm in the NE10 Championship Semifinals against #1 Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.