American East Conference

2018 #AEVB Major Awards & All-League Teams Announced

11/15/2018 9:25:00 PM

With the 2018 America East Volleyball Championship set to begin tomorrow, the conference's #AEVB annual award winners were announced Thursday evening, highlighted by the five major award winners, two from regular-season champion Stony Brook, a pair from UAlbany and one from Hartford.

Stony Brook's LeAnne Sakowicz and the Seawolves' coaching staff earned major awards with Sakowicz taking home Setter of the Year to join coaches, who won Coaching Staff of the Year, as award winners. UAlbany's Nicole Otero earned Defensive Specialist of the Year and Andersen Vaughan was named Rookie of the Year. Hartford's Jenna Bridges rounded out the honorees by taking home Player of the Year.

The 2018 #AEVB awards, along with the All-Conference & All-Rookie teams, were determined in a vote by the league's seven head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The All-Academic team was voted on by a committee of administrators from the conference's member institutions.

Player of the Year
Jenna Bridges, Jr., Middle Blocker, Hartford

• Bridges is the third Hawk in program history to be named #AEVB Player of the Year; first since 1993.
• Leads the league averaging 4.12 kills per set, 4.70 points per set, 1.01 bocks per set while also leading the league with a .340 hitting percentage.
• Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.

Setter of the Year
LeAnne Sakowicz, Jr., Setter, Stony Brook

• Sakowicz is the second Seawolf in program history to be named #AEVB Setter of the Year; first since 2007.
• Leads the league averaging 10.61 assists per set.
• She has helped the Seawovles hit a league-best .240 hitting percentage.
• An eight-time Setter of the Week this year, Sakowicz is a first-team All-Conference selection.

Defensive Specialist of the Year
Nicole Otero, Sr., Libero, UAlbany

• It is the senior's third Defensive Specialist of the Year honor after winning as a freshman; earned this major award for the second straight year.
• She becomes the third standout to win the award three times.
• Ranks second in the conference averaging 4.98 digs per set and upped that average to a 5.27 per set in league play.
• Also a first-team All-Conference selection.

Rookie of the Year
Andersen Vaughan, Fr., Setter, UAlbany

• This is UAlbany's fifth Rookie of the Year in program history.
• Vaughan ranks fourth in the league averaging 9.73 assists per set.
• Also an America East All-Rookie choice.

Coaching Staff of the Year
Stony Brook

• The Seawolves were a unanimous selection for Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Led by second year head coach Kristin Belzung, Stony Brook captured the regular-season title for the first time in program history; also became the first undefeated regular-season champions since 2009.
• The Seawolves dominated league play, going undefeated 12-0.
• Belzung is assisted by Marc Neff and Sarah Bullock.

Fourteen players earned All-Conference recognition while seven were All-Rookie choices and seven garnered All-Academic recognition. View the full All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams.

The 2018 #AEVB Championship gets underway with semifinal action on Friday, Nov. 16 at Stony Brook University. #2 UAlbany and #3 New Hampshire begin semifinal play at 4 p.m. with a battle between #1 Stony Brook and #4 Hartford following at 6:30 p.m. The championship match will be played on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 4 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.