NCAA volleyball notes: Free agency, AVCA POY, a hiring, USAV ties

TAMPA — This, of course, is the big day, the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship title match between top-seeded Nebraska and seventh-seeded Texas.

We’ll have more on that in a later post Sunday in advance of the 3 p.m. Eastern first serve on ABC.

First, some NCAA news and notes.

FREE AGENCY: Florida has the first major signing from the transfer portal and a really big name is up for grabs.

German Isabel Martin, the 2022 Mountain West player of the year for UNLV and MWC co-player of the year this season, will play her graduate year for the Gators.

Martin, a 6-foot outside, played two years at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa before the product of Mauerstetten, Bavaria, transferred to UNLV. This season she shared MWC honors with Boise State’s Paige Bartsch after leading the Rebels in kills with 514 (4.32/set), hitting .294. She had a team-high 38 aces and was second in digs 244 (2.05/set).

Minnesota junior Taylor Landfair has entered the portal. The 6-5 outside from Plainfield, Illinois, is a three-time all-Big Ten player and was a VolleyballMag.com first-team All-American in 2022. 

Landfair led Minnesota in kills this season with 361 (3.19/set) and aces (35).

AVCA POY: Wisconsin’s Sarah Franklin, who said when receiving the award that she will return for another season, is the AVCA national player of the year.

The 6-4 outside, who was the Big Ten player of the year, is the second Badger to win the award. Dana Rettke won in 2021. 

Franklin led Wisconsin in kills with 486 (4.15/set) and had 21 aces.

VBM ALL-AMERICANS: The VolleyballMag.com All-American teams and national coach, player and freshman of the year will be announced Friday. Our panel of voters do not submit their selections until after the NCAA championship match. The AVCA concludes voting before the national semifinals and has other guidelines to consider. Our voters are only asked to include at least one setter and one libero on each of the four 14-player teams.

COACHING CAROUSEL: No team had it harder than Saint Peter’s last season as the New Jersey school in the NEC finished 0-30. The new coach is Fernando Colon, who is not from New Jersey but has been coaching there as well. 

Colon has his work cut out for him. Saint Peters has won a total of 16 matches since going winless in 2011 and 2012.

From the Saint Peter’s news release:

The New Jersey native…