Albany, N.Y. — University at Albany sophomore Blair Buchanan took home Player of the Year and Setter of the Year accolades at America East’s annual awards banquet on Thursday night, while her coach Kelly Sheffield garnered Coach of the Year honors as well. Northeastern University’s Kira Batura and Ashley Adamczyk were also recognized as Rookie of the Year and Defensive Specialist of the Year, respectively. All voting was conducted by the conference’s head coaches.
Buchanan, a 5-10 setter, is the catalyst of the conference’s most efficient offense as she leads the league in assists per game with a 12.56 average, nearly two assists higher than the second-place setter. She helped guide the Great Danes to the top of America East’s hitting percentage chart with an impressive .279 hitting percentage. In the conference season alone, the unanimous choice for Setter of the Year was even better as she averaged 13.44 apg. For the season she leads her squad in assists, is second on the team in hitting percentage (.338), third in digs per game (2.31) and has tallied nine double-doubles (assists-digs).
In his fourth year at the helm of the Great Danes, Sheffield led Albany to a conference-best 13-1 league mark enroute to earning the right to host this weekend’s America East Volleyball Championship as the top seed for the four-team tournament. Albany has also posted an impressive 25-6 mark thus far this season, which has included an 18-match win streak that began on September 21 versus Siena and extended 12 matches into the conference campaign. The 25 wins this year is the most by an Albany team since its 1988 squad went 37-5. Sheffield was a unanimous choice as Coach of the Year by his conference colleagues.
Batura ranks fourth in the league in digs (4.32 dpg) and 10th in service aces (0.34). The 5-10 outside hitter also averages 2.81 kills per game, which is second-best on the Huskies. Batura was named America East’s Rookie of the Week a conference-best five times this season and has accumulated 13 double-doubles (kills-digs) to date.
A 5-6 senior, Adamczyk has been the conference’s most dominant libero all year long. She leads the league in digs (5.47 dpg) by more than half a dig per game and has put up huge numbers throughout the 2004 campaign. Adamczyk, a unanimous choice as Defensive Specialist of the Year, has recorded double-digit dig totals in 29 of 30 matches on the season, including 15 matches with 20 or more digs and an amazing six matches with 30 or more digs. In four games versus the University of Maine on November 6, she recorded a career-high 39 digs.
Buchanan and Adamczyk are joined on the All-Conference team by Albany’s Shelby Goldman, Ashley Hunter and Ashlee Reed, Maine’s Shannan Fotter, Brittany Howe, Kaili Jordan and Carmen Morgan, Jocelyn Teoh of UMBC and Larissa Adomat and Whitney Turner of Northeastern.
Goldman leads the league in kills (4.19 kpg), while teammate Reed was the conference’s most accurate hitter during America East contests (.410).
The Honorable Mention squad consists of Michelle Heck and Jacki Kane of Binghamton, New Hampshire’s Erin Walker, Batura and Stony Brook’s Abby Egan and Maria Samilo.
Batura and Kane, both freshmen, are also on the All-Rookie Team and are joined by New Hampshire’s Toni Barnas, Brittany Eukovich and Bree Peterson of Northeastern and Stony Brook’s Morgan Sweany.
Eleven of the 12 all-conference selections will be in action at the 2004 America East Volleyball Championship held at Albany’s University Gymnasium. No. 1 Albany plays No. 4 Binghamton at 5 p.m. Friday (November 19) in the first semifinal, while No. 2 Northeastern faces No. 3 Maine at 7 p.m. in the second semifinal. The winners advance to the America East Championship game on Saturday at 4 p.m. The winner of the America East Championship receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Volleyball Championship.
This weekend’s championship can be followed on the internet through Championship LIVE! on AmericaEast.com.