COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 10, 2022) - Colorado State University Pueblo volleyball player Payton Van Veen was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and earned First Team accolades along with teammate Jazzy Espinoza. The duo led four other players named Honorable Mention, announced Thursday by league officials.

Hannah Delor, Josey Nunn, Sadie Scoville and Elaine Thibadeau each were named Honorable Mention for the ThunderWolves.

CSU Pueblo finished the regular season with a 19-7 overall record and earned the fifth-seed in the RMAC Tournament after finishing 12-6 in conference play.

After a stellar 2022 campaign with the ThunderWolves, Van Veen has produced 274 kills for the Pack with a stellar .289 hitting percentage for a team that ranks 21st nationally for hitting percentage. The redshirt freshman is also responsible for 3.46 points per set in over 91 sets and 26 matches.

Espinoza ended as the league leader in hitting percentage, earning a .400 mark on 194 kills and 400 total attempts against just 34 errors in 91 sets played. She finished second in the league with a 1.11 blocks/set and was the top blocker in the RMAC with 101 on the season.

The ThunderWolves enter the RMAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed and will take on 4-seeded Colorado School of Mines on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. MSU Denver's Auraria Event Center in a quarterfinal match-up.