DURHAM, N.H. — Three America East teams took home major awards on Thursday night as the conference’s all-conference teams and major award winners were announced at the annual awards banquet at the University of New Hampshire, the site of this year’s America East Championship. New Hampshire’s Demi Muses became just the third player in conference history to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors, while teammate Keelin Severtson also earned her second-straight Setter of the Year award. Binghamton took home Coaching Staff of the Year, while freshman Lauren Kornmann was named Rookie of the Year. UMBC sophomore Kirstin Watson was named Defensive Specialist of the Year.
The America East Volleyball 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. The 2016 America East Volleyball Championship will take place Friday, Nov. 18 and Saturday, Nov. 19 at the University of New Hampshire.
Coaching Staff of the Year: Binghamton (Glenn Kiriyama)
- Head coach Glenn Kiriyams earns his fourth Coaching Staff of the Year honor.
- Binghamton earned its second-straight trip to the America East tournament, winning 5 of its final 7 conference matches.
- The Bearcats became the first team since 2012 to beat both New Hampshire and Albany in the same season.
- Led the Bearcats to their 11th tournament appearance in 15 years since joining the America East conference.
- Binghamton ranked second in the league in overall hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage.
Rookie of the Year: Lauren Kornmann, Binghamton
- Kornmann is the second Bearcat in program history to be named Rookie of the Year.
- She led all freshmen and ranked second in the conference in both kills (3.5 per set) and points (3.86 per set) during conference play.
- Was named Rookie of the Week four times during the season.
- Posted double-digit kills 17 times this season.
Defensive Specialist of the Year: Kristin Watson, UMBC
- The first Defensive Specliast of the Year in UMBC program history.
- Watson led the America East with 5.56 digs per set, totaling 267 during league play.
- Was named Defensive Player of the Week five times this year.
- She helped UMBC hold opponents to a .180 hitting percentage during the conference season.
Setter of the Year: Keelin Severtson, New Hampshire
- Severtson earned back-to-back Setter of the Year honors, becoming the fourth player in league history to do so.
- The senior leads the conference with 11.36 assists per set during conference action while also adding 2.07 digs per set.
- She has quarterbacked the UNH attack to a league-best .257 hitting percentage during conference play.
Player of the Year: Demi Muses, New Hampshire
- Muses is the third player in conference history to be named Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
- She joins Albany’s Blair Buchanan, who won the award three-straight years (2004-06), and former Wildcat Alyson Coier (2002-03).
- The senior gives the Wildcats four-straight Player of the Year awards.
- Muses leads the America East in both kills (3.61) and points (4.35) per set, while ranking fifth in both hitting percentage (.313) and digs (3.98)
The 2016 America East Championship will be held at University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gymnasium beginning on Friday, November 19 with the semifinals at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The championship match will be on Saturday, November 19 at 4 p.m. All games will be streamed live for free on AmericaEast.TV. Visit Championship Central for more information.
| First Team |
|
|
|
|
| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
| OH |
Lauren Kornmann |
Fr. |
Binghamton |
Kenvil, N.J./Roxbury |
|
| MB/OH |
Zoya Trendafilova |
Sr. |
UMBC |
Sofia Bulgaria/Elisaveta Bagryana |
|
| DS |
Kristin Watson |
So. |
UMBC |
Bowie, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt |
|
| MB |
Demi Muses |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
Orangevale, Calif./Casa Roble |
|
| S |
Keelin Severtson |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
Delray Beach, Fla. / Cardinal Newman |
| OH |
Emily Tanski |
Fr. |
New Hampshire |
Plymouth, Mich./Father Gabriel Richard |
| MH/OH |
McKyla Brooks |
So. |
Stony Brook |
Blasdell, N.Y./Frontier |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team |
|
|
|
|
| Pos. |
Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
| MB |
Amanda Dolan |
Gr. |
Albany |
Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central |
|
| OH |
Laini Leindecker |
Sr. |
Albany |
New Philadelphia, Ohio / New Philadelphia |
| L |
Nicole Otero |
So. |
Albany |
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Colegio Adianez |
| OH |
Gabriela Alicea |
So. |
Binghamton |
San Juan, Puerto Rico/University |
|
| MH |
Kristella Morina |
Jr. |
Binghamton |
Yonkers, N.Y./Yonkers |
|
| S |
Sarah Ngo |
Jr. |
Binghamton |
Franklin, Tenn./Centennial |
|
| MB |
Gabri Olhava |
So. |
New Hampshire |
Mount Prospect, Ill./John Hersey |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| All-Rookie |
|
|
|
|
|
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Hometown/High School/Previous School |
|
|
| OH |
Chloe Evering |
Albany |
San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos |
|
|
| MB |
Akuabata Okenwa |
Albany |
Canyon Country, Calif./Quartz Hill |
|
|
| OH |
Lauren Kornmann |
Binghamton |
Kenvil, N.J./Roxbury |
|
|
| MB |
Jenna Bridges |
Hartford |
Exeter, R.I./Exeter-West Greenwich |
|
|
| OH |
Kennedi Smith |
New Hampshire |
The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands College Park |
|
| OH |
Emily Tanski |
New Hampshire |
Plymouth, Mich./Father Gabriel Richard |
|
|
| RS |
Maria Poole |
Stony Brook |
Stavanger, Norway/Toppvolley |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2016 America East Volleyball All-Academic Team |
|
|
| Name |
Cl. |
School |
Hometown |
GPA |
Major |
| Amanda Dolan |
Gr. |
Albany |
Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central |
3.49 |
Business Administration |
| Laini Leindecker |
Sr. |
Albany |
New Philadelphia, Ohio / New Philadelphia |
3.73 |
Human Biology |
| Mikala McCauley |
Gr. |
Albany |
Stafordville, N.Y. / Stissing Mountain |
3.98 |
Psychology |
| Sarah Ngo |
Jr. |
Binghamton |
Franklin, Tenn./Centennial |
3.78 |
Business Administration |
| Paulina Modestow |
So. |
Hartford |
Hampden, Mass. / Minnechaug Regional |
3.91 |
Art |
| Zoya Trendafilova |
Sr. |
UMBC |
Sofia, Bulgaria/ Elisaveta Bagryana |
3.6 |
Visual Arts |
| Keelin Severtson |
Sr. |
New Hampshire |
Delray Beach, Fla. / Cardinal Newman |
3.3 |
Kinesiology |