2017 #AEVB Major Awards & All-League Teams Announced
ALBANY, N.Y. — Three America East volleyball programs were honored with major awards as the conference's 2017 hardware was handed out Thursday evening at the annual awards banquet on the campus of the University at Albany, site of the 2017 #AEVB Championship. The host Great Danes took home three of the six major award trophies.
Binghamton University’s Gaby Alicea earned Player of the Year honors and fellow Bearcat, Sarah Ngo, was named Setter of the Year. Albany's Nicole Otero was selected as the Defensive Specialist of the Year while UMBC’s Carmen Freeman and Albany’s Tatiana Tiangco were both honored as Co-Rookies of the Year. Albany's coaching staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year.
The 2017 #AEVB awards, along with the All-Conference & All-Rookie teams, were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own team. The All-Academic team was voted on by a committee of administrators from the conference’s member institutions.
Player of the Year
Gaby Alicea, Jr., Outside Hitter, Binghamton
- Alicea is the first Bearcat in program history to be named #AEVB Player of the Year.
- Leads the league averaging 3.7 kills per set.
- Ranks third with 36 service aces and is ninth in digs with 2.8 per set.
- Also a first-team All-Conference selection.
Setter of the Year
Sarah Ngo, Sr., Setter, Binghamton
- Ranks second among league leaders averaging 10.2 assists per set.
- Ngo is the only setter in the league’s top 10 in digs, coming in eighth with 2.9 per set.
- She is Binghamton’s second-ever Setter of the Year and first since 2012.
- The senior was also named to the All-Conference second team.
Defensive Specialist of the Year
Nicole Otero, Jr., Libero, Albany
- It is the junior’s second Defensive Specialist of the Year honor after winning as a freshman.
- She becomes the fourth standout to win the award twice.
- Ranks second in the conference averaging 4.8 digs per set and upped that average to a league-best 5.6 per set in league play.
- A six-time Defensive Specialist of the Week this year, Otero is a first-team All-Conference choice for the first time.
Co-Rookie of the Year
Carmen Freeman, Fr., Outside Hitter, UMBC
- This is UMBC’s seventh Rookie of the Year since 2005.
- Freeman ranks fifth in the league averaging 3.0 kills per set and 14th in digs with 2.6 per set.
- Was a four-time Rookie of the Week honoree this season.
- Also an America East All-Rookie choice.
Co-Rookie of the Year
Tatiana Tiangco, Fr., Outside Hitter, Albany
- Tiangco is the third Great Dane to be named Rookie of the Year.
- Ranks 13th in the conference averaging 2.4 kills per set.
- Ranks 8th in league play with 3.0 kills per set.
- Was a three-time Rookie of the Week honoree and is an All-Rookie selection.
Coaching Staff of the Year
Albany
- The Great Danes were a unanimous selection for Coaching Staff of the Year.
- Led by head coach MJ Engstrom, Albany captured the regular-season title for a conference-record 10th time.
- The Great Danes dominated league play, going 11-1 and winning their last 10 matches while only dropping four sets in that span.
- Engstrom is assisted by Josh Pickard and Traci Vandegrift.
Fourteen players earned All-Conference recognition while seven were All-Rookie choices and nine garnered All-Academic recognition. View the complete award winners listing.
The 2017 #AEVB Championship gets underway with semifinal action on Friday, Nov. 17 at the University at Albany. #2 Binghamton and #3 New Hampshire begin semifinal play at 4 p.m. with a battle between #1 Albany and #4 Stony Brook following at 7 p.m. The championship match will be played on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. All three matches will be broadcast on AmericaEast.TV.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links as well as box scores, highlights and recaps following each match in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEVB hashtags to join the conversation.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
- #3Pillars – Building the Complete Student-Athlete -