For the third consecutive season, three Bisons women's volleyball players have earned Canada West All-Star honours. It's the first time in 24 years that the program has had three players recognized with some form of all-star status in three straight seasons. This year's recognition went to outside hitter Raya Surinx (First Team All-Star), middle Eve Catojo (middle) and setter Julia Martens (setter).

Surinx becomes the first Bison since setter Samantha Loewen between 2008-11 to earn conference all-star honours in four straight seasons (Rookie of the Year and Second-Team in 2023, First Team in 2024, 2025 and 2026). The Winnipeg native once again led the nation in kills per set, at 4.50, while her 315 total kills were first in Canada West and second in U SPORTS. Surinx also led Canada West and was second in the country in aces, with 46. 



The back-to-back U SPORTS Player of the Year concluded her regular season career as the most accomplished Bison in the rally scoring era of the program. Her 173 career regular season aces (second all-time in Canada West), 1,539.5 total points (second all-time in Canada West), 1,296 career regular season kills (third all-time in Canada West) and 1,656 career kills (exhibition and playoffs included, fifth in any era of the program) are all program records. 

"For the third consecutive season, Raya led Canada West in total kills and kills per set, while also leading the nation in kills per set, doing so with a first-year setter. She also led Canada West in aces per set as well, topping three categories for the 2025-26 season," said Bisons head coach Ken Bentley.

"Raya accomplishes these stats by continuing to humbly put her head down and do the work to try and get better every day. She has been an absolute treat to coach these past four years and she serves as an inspiration in our community for our young volleyball players."



Catojo is a first-time all-star after leading the nation in blocks per set, at 1.36. The senior's 95 total blocks also led the country, and she concludes her regular season career as the only Bison in the rally scoring era of the program to record over 300 total blocks. Her total of 343 is a school record in the modern era, and the 11th-most all-time in Canada West history. 

Offensively, Catojo was just as efficient. She finished third in Canada West and U SPORTS in hitting percentage, at .364, and her career hitting percentage of .349 ranks first in the rally scoring era of the program. 

"Eve has had a monster season in 2025-26, leading Canada West and the nation in blocks per set while finishing third in hitting percentage set in conference play. From the very first summer training session, it was clear that Eve was setting out to make her fifth and final year of U SPORTS volleyball her best year, and she never wavered from that goal," said Bentley.

"Her effort and intensity in everything she did was just so impressive and I am so incredibly proud of what she has accomplished this season. She has also been an amazing captain for our team this year. This is icing on the cake of an outstanding career with the Bisons."



Martens earns All-Rookie recognition after a stellar season that saw her start 17 matches, while playing in 53 total sets. She was the nation's top rookie in assists per set, at 9.34, a total that was also third in all of U SPORTS. A presence on the attack as well, her tricky left-hand attack resulted in 37 kills overall. Defensively, Martens finished fourth on the Bisons with 139 digs, while her 31 total blocks were fifth on the team.
 
Martens made her first career U SPORTS start against Calgary on October 30, a 3-1 win. She tallied 41 assists in the game, which tied for her career-high, matched on January 9, a 3-1 win over Mount Royal. Overall, she recorded over 40 assists in three different matches, while her eight total points in a 3-1 win over Saskatchewan on January 17 were a personal best (37 assists, four kills, ten digs, eight assisted blocks).

"Julia met the moment in the best possible way and went on to have a fantastic rookie campaign by finishing third in assists in Canada West while helping the Bisons finish with a 14-6 record this season. " noted Bentley.

"She has a very high volleyball IQ and remains calm and cool no matter the circumstance, and has handled the pressure of starting for the defending national champions with a steady demeanour. I'm very proud of Julia for the way she has handled herself this season. It has been a heavy lift and she did a great job for us."