Three #AEVB Programs Take Home Major Awards as All-Conference Teams Announced
With the 2019 America East Volleyball Championship set to begin tomorrow, the conference's #AEVB annual award winners were announced Thursday afternoon, highlighted by the five major award winners for their performances during the 2019 season. A pair from Hartford and a pair from Stony Brook earned four of this year’s honors. UAlbany’s coaching staff took home Coaching Staff of the Year honors after earning the top seed for the championship.
The major award winners were determined in a vote by the league’s six 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, Sr., Middle Blocker, Hartford
- Fourth-ever repeat winner of the award.
- Leads the conference averaging 4.70 kills per set and 5.24 points per set, while also ranking second the conference with a .349 hitting percentage.
- Also repeats as a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Setter of the Year
LeAnne Sakowicz, Sr., Setter, Stony Brook
- Sixth-ever repeat winner of the award.
- Ranks second in the conference averaging 11.32 assists per set.
- She has helped the Seawolves hit a .221 hitting percentage and lead Stony Brook to second in the conference averaging 12.68 assists per set.
- Three-time Setter of the Week this year, Sakowicz is a second-team All-Conference selection.
Defensive Specialist of the Year
Kiani Kerstetter, Jr., L, Stony Brook
- Becomes the first-ever Seawolf to earn this award.
- Leads the conference with 4.84 digs per set and has helped Stony Brook lead the conference averaging 15.82 digs per set.
- Also a first-team All-Conference selection.
Rookie of the Year
Maddie Lindsay, Fr., OH, Hartford
- This is Hartford's third Rookie of the Year in program history and first since 2001.
- Lindsay ranks 7th in the conference averaging 3.00 kills per set.
- Has helped the Hawks to a conference best .263 hitting percentage and a conference best 13.95 kills per set.
- Captured six Rookie of the Week awards this year.
- Also an America East All-Rookie choice and second-team All-Conference selection.
Coaching Staff of the Year
UAlbany
- Led by first year head coach Josh Pickard, UAlbany captured the regular-season title for the 11th time in program history.
- UAlbany dominated league play, going 9-1.
- This is the seventh time UAlbany has captured the Coaching Staff of the Year award.
- Pickard is assisted by Adam Rollman and Desma Colburn.
2019 #AEVB First Team All-Conference
2019 #AEVB Second Team All-Conference
2019 #AEVB All-Rookie Team
2019 #AEVB All-Academic Team
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 2019 #AEVB Championship gets underway with semifinal action on Friday, Nov. 22 at UAlbany. #2 New Hampshire and #3 Hartford begin semifinal play at 4 p.m. with a battle between #1 UAlbany and #4 Stony Brook following at 7:00 p.m. The championship match will be played on Saturday, Nov. 23 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.
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