Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association

Kai Cousins may have been a newcomer to collegiate volleyball, but it did not take him long to make an impact.
In just his third match at Charleston, the 6-foot-1 outside hitter notched a double-double, with 20 kills and 11 digs during a five-set loss to Queens, N.C. He took 39 swings in that match, showing the Eagles were already trusting him to carry a heavy load. It was the first of four double-doubles during the 2025 season, the first of three matches in which he posted 20 or more kills and the first of 13 matches with double digits in kills.
The EIVA’s coaches certainly noticed his impact as they voted him onto the All-EIVA First Team as well as giving him the Tom Tait Memorial EIVA Freshman of the Year.
The product of Kanagawa, Japan, has 286 kills, 17 aces, 20 assists, 145 digs and 21 blocks this season. His all-around play shows in the conference statistical leaderboard. He ranks third in the EIVA at 3.45 kills per set, fourth at 1.75 digs per set, fourth at 3.85 points per set and sixth with his .267 hitting.
Cousins, who had previously played for the Japanese U-18 National Team, is the first Eagle to pick up an end-of-season individual award from the EIVA.
This is the first year the conference’s award for a student-athlete making his collegiate debut is named for Tom Tait, who was a part of two important college volleyball debuts. Tait was the first head coach for both the Penn State men’s and women’s teams, which have since combined for 10 national championships.
Cousins and his team face George Mason on April 23 in the EIVA Championship Tournament, set for Princeton’s Dillon Gym.