DURHAM, N.H. — The America East regular-season champion University of New Hampshire Wildcats took home three of the five volleyball major awards, the conference office announced at the awards banquet held Thursday night in Durham, N.H., the site of this year’s America East Championship. Senior Taylor Dunklau was named the conference Player and Setter of the Year, while the coaching staff, led by head coach Jill Hirschinger , was named Coaching Staff of the Year. Binghamton freshman Alexis LaGoy was honored as Rookie of the Year and Albany senior Viktoriia Stroilo was named Defensive Specialist of the Year. The all-conference teams and major award winners are voted on by the league’s seven head coaches who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Dunklau is just the third America East volleyball student-athlete and first since Albany’s Brooke Stanley in 2009 to be named both the conference Setter and Player of the Year in the same season. The senior led the conference in assists per set at 9.95 while quarterbacking the New Hampshire offense to the best hitting percentage in the league at .210. Dunklau’s skilled setting also helped New Hampshire lead the conference in fewest blocks by opponents, averaging just 1.69 per set.
Stroilo is the second player in conference history to be named Defensive Specialist of the Year in three-straight seasons, joining former Great Dane Laurie Gonzalez. The senior continues the trend of great Albany liberos, as the Great Danes have captured seven-straight Defensive Specialist of the Year awards. Stroilo led the conference in digs per set at 5.31, helping Albany lead the conference in that category as a team. Her digging ability also helped the Great Danes hold opponents to a .184 hitting percentage which ranks second in the conference.
LaGoy becomes the first Bearcat to be named Rookie of the Year in program history. The freshman ranked second in the conference and first among freshmen in hitting percentage at .292. She also led all rookies with 2.18 kills per set, and was even better in conference play with 2.51 kills per set.
The New Hampshire coaching staff, led by head coach Jill Hirschinger, was named Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Wildcats to their second-straight America East regular-season title. Hirschinger and the Wildcats finished 11-1 in conference play, the team’s best winning percentage since finishing with the same record in 2002. New Hampshire is No. 1 seed for the fifth time in program history and is the host of the 2014 championship.
Dunklau was one of two Wildcats selected to the All-Conference First Team, joined by junior outside hitter Tori Forrest who ranked sixth in kills (2.97) and 14th in digs (2.57). Binghamton also placed two on the first team in setter Amanda Dettmann and outside hitter Allison Hovie. Hartford senior Sareeta Nethersole was the lone Hawk selected to the team after leading the conference in kills (425) and points (465). Albany sophomore outside hitter Laini Leindecker and Stony Brook senior middle blocker Evann Slaughter rounded out the group.
Stroilo headlined the seven-member All-Conference second team and was joined by teammate Amanda Dolan, the 2013 America East Rookie of the Year. Hartford setter Jackie Tamburri earned a selection after ranking second in the conference in assists (9.77) and ninth in digs (2.82). A pair of Seawolves landed on the second team in outside hitter Kathy Fletcher and setter Nicole Vogel. UMBC outside hitter Sherelle Walker and New Hampshire libero Madison Lightfoot finished off the squad.
LaGoy led the All-Rookie group that features six different schools. UMBC was the only team to garner two All-Rookie selections in Marissa Duncan and Paola Rojas. Albany freshman setter Emily Lopes, New Hampshire right-side hitter Sasha Cucuz, Stony Brook middle blocker/outside hitter Cydney Bowman and Hartford standout outside hitter Katy Henchy were all honored.
Three all-conference selections also were named to the All-Academic team including Albany’s Stroilo (3.74 in Biology), New Hampshire’s Forrest (3.62 in Business Management) and Hartford’s Nethersole (3.61 in marketing). To be eligible for the All-Academic team student-athletes must be a sophomore with a GPA above a 3.30 and play in the majority of your team’s sets. The team is voted on by a group of Sports Information Directors, Faculty Athletic Representative and Academic Advisors. Forrest was one of two Wildcats selected to the team that also included Cassidy Croci (3.93 GPA in International Affaris & Business). Stony Brook earned a pair of selection in junior Melissa Rigo (3.65 in Business) and and senior Taylor Gillie (3.41 in Anthrolpology, Sociology). Albany sophomore Mikala McCauley (3.93 in psychology) rounded out the team as one of only two first-time honorees. Storilo, Nethersole, Croci, Forrest and Rigo all were repeat selections.
The 2014 America East Championship will be held at University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium beginning on Friday, November 21 with the semifinals at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The championship match will be on Saturday, November 22 at 2 p.m. All games will be streamed live for free on AmericaEast.TV.
| 2014 America East Volleyball All-Conference Teams |
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| First Team |
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| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
| OH |
Laini Leindecker |
So. |
Albany |
New Philadelphia, Ohio/New Philadelphia |
| S |
Amanda Dettmann |
Sr. |
Binghamton |
Milwaukee, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels |
| OH |
Allison Hovie |
So. |
Binghamton |
Neenah, Wis./Neenah |
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| OH |
Sareeta Nethersole |
Sr. |
Hartford |
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson |
| S |
Taylor Dunklau |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago |
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| OH |
Tori Forrest |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
Powder Springs, Ga./North Cobb |
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| MB |
Evann Slaughter |
Sr. |
Stony Brook |
Clinton, Md./Oxon Hill |
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| Second Team |
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| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
| RS/OH |
Amanda Dolan |
So. |
Albany |
Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central |
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| L |
Viktoriia Stroilo |
Sr. |
Albany |
Luhansk, Ukraine/Ritenour |
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| S |
Jackie Tamburri |
Sr. |
Hartford |
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson |
| OH |
Sherelle Walker |
Jr. |
UMBC |
New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock |
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| DS |
Madison Lightfoot |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston |
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| OH/MB |
Kathy Fletcher |
Jr. |
Stony Brook |
West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago/Ashland University |
| S |
Nicole Vogel |
Jr. |
Stony Brook |
Costa Mesa, Calif./Edison |
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| All-Rookie |
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| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
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| S |
Emily Lopes |
Albany |
Bakersfield, Calif./Independence |
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| M/OH |
Alexis LaGoy |
Binghamton |
Baldwinsville, N.Y./Baldwinsville |
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| OH/RS |
Katy Henchy |
Hartford |
Ventura, Calif./Ventura |
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| MB |
Marissa Duncan |
UMBC |
Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron |
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| MB |
Paola Rojas |
UMBC |
San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico/American Military Academy |
| RS |
Sasha Cucuz |
New Hampshire |
Plymouth, Mich./Canton |
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| MB/OH |
Cydney Bowman |
Stony Brook |
Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary |
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| 2014 America East Volleyball All-Academic Team |
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| Name |
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Cl. |
School |
Hometown/High School |
GPA |
Major |
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| Mikala McCauley |
So. |
Albany |
Stanfordville, N.Y./Stissing Mountain |
3.93 |
Psychology |
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| Viktoriia Stroilo |
Sr. |
Albany |
Luhansk, Ukraine/Ritenour |
3.74 |
Biology |
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| Sareeta Nethersole |
Sr. |
Hartford |
Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson |
3.61 |
Marketing |
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| Cassidy Croci |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
Sylvania, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy |
3.93 |
Business & International Affairs |
| Tori Forrest |
Jr. |
New Hampshire |
Powder Springs, Ga./North Cobb |
3.62 |
Business Management & Accounting |
| Taylor Gillie |
Sr. |
Stony Brook |
Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers |
3.41 |
Anthropology, Sociology |
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| Melissa Rigo |
Jr. |
Stony Brook |
East Northport, N.Y./Elwood-John Glenn |
3.65 |
Business |
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| Player of the Year: Taylor Dunklau, New Hampshire |
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| Setter of the Year: Taylor Dunklau, New Hampshire |
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| Defensive Specialist of the Year: Viktoriia Stroilo, Albany |
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| Rookie of the Year: Alexis LaGoy, Binghamton |
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| Coaching Staff of the Year: New Hampshire |
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