#AEVB League Player Hits Midway Point, 5 Earn Weekly Honors
BOSTON – #AEVB conference play hit the midway point for over the weekend as five programs picked up wins. The top of the standings are tight with three teams- Albany, UMBC and New Hampshire- all within a half game of first place. Albany and UMBC, which won at UNH for the first time since 2010 last week, are tied at 4-1 while UNH is 4-2. The second half of the schedule begins this week. The top six teams in the league standings will qualify for the 2017 #AEVB Championship.
The majority of #AEVB conference matches will appear AmericaEast.TV, the place to watch free live content on any device, including the network's Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Android TV OTT channels. A pair of UNH league contests will air on ESPN3, home to over 30 America East school-produced events this fall. Full #AEVB Schedule/Results
Here are the conference's week eight award winners:
Co-Player of the Week
Gaby Alicea, Binghamton – Jr., Outside Hitter, San Juan, P.R.
- Led Binghamton to a 3-2 win over Stony Brook with a monster performance of 22 kills and 24 digs.
- Averaged a league-best 4.4 kps and was fifth with 4.8 dps.
- Hit .326, the eighth-best mark in the conference.
- This is Alicea’s second #AEVB Player of the Week honor of the season (10/3) and third of her career.
Co-Player of the Week
Paola Rojas, UMBC – Jr., Middle Blocker, San Lorenzo, P.R.
- Averaged 3.9 kills and hit a league-best .431 in a 2-0 week for UMBC.
- Had a career-high 22 kills and hit .486 in UMBC’s 3-2 win over New Hampshire, its first UNH since 2010.
- This is Rojas’ fourth #AEVB Rookie of the Week award of the season.
Setter of the Week
Kelly Cameron, Albany – So., Setter, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Contributed a season-high 51 assists in a four-set win over Stony Brook.
- Averaged league-best 12.8 assists per set, 1.5 more than anyone else in the league.
- This is Cameron’s second-straight #AEVB Setter of the Week honor (10/10) and second of her career.
Defensive Specialist of the Week
Nicole Otero, Albany – Jr., Libero, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
- Had 31 digs in a 3-1 win over Stony Brook.
- Averaged a league-best 7.8 digs per set, over two more than anyone else in the league.
- This is the Otero’s second #AEVB Defensive Specialist of the Week award of the season (10/10) and 10th of her career.
Rookie of the Week
Tatiana Tiangco, Albany – Fr., Outside Hitter, Scarsdale, N.Y.
- Ranked second among league leaders overall last week with 3.8 kills per set after a 15-kill performance in win over Stony Brook.
- Hit .306, the nine-best mark in the league last week.
- This is Tiangco’s second career #AEVB Rookie of the Week award (10/3).
Weekly Award Winners
Aug. 29 - Player of the Week: Akubata Okenwa, Albany; Setter of the Week: Claudia Lopez, UMBC; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Kristin Watson, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Emma Patlovich, New Hampshire
Sept. 6 - Player of the Week: McKyla Brooks, Stony Brook; Setter of the Week: Sarah Ngo, Binghamton; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Lindsey Visvardis, UMass Lowell; Rookie of the Week: Samantha Gioiosa, Binghamton
Sept. 12 - Player of the Week: Lauren Mortier, UMBC; Setter of the Week: Krytsia Negron, UMBC; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Logan Welti, New Hampshire; Rookie of the Week: Carmen Freeman, UMBC
Sept. 19 - Player of the Week: Gabri Olhava, New Hampshire; Setter of the Week: LeAnne Sakowicz, Stony Brook; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Kiani Kerstetter, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Carmen Freeman, UMBC
Sept. 26 - Player of the Week: Cydney Bowman, Stony Brook; Setter of the Week: Krytsia Negron, UMBC; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Kristin Watson, UMBC; Rookie of the Week: Carmen Freeman, UMBC
Oct. 3 - Player of the Week: Gaby Alicea, Binghamton; Setter of the Week: LeAnne Sakowicz, Stony Brook; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Kiani Kerstetter, Stony Brook; Rookie of the Week: Tatiana Tiangco, Albany
Oct. 10 - Player of the Week: Kennedi Smith, New Hampshire; Setter of the Week: Kelly Cameron, Albany; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Nicole Otero, Albany; Co-Rookies of the Week: Abby Nash, Hartford & Carmen Freeman, UMBC
Oct. 17 – Co-Players of the Week: Gaby Alicea, Binghamton & Paola Rojas, UMBC; Setter of the Week: Kelly Cameron, Albany; Defensive Specialist of the Week: Nicole Otero, Albany; Rookie of the Week: Tatiana Tiangco, Albany
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