ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Women's Volleyball program was recognized by the NECC with Joanna Hogue being named the 2010 NECC Women's Volleyball Defensive Specialist of the Year and Ashliy Veliz and Hershey Canta garnering First-Team nod's.
Seven of the eight sponsored programs were represented on 2010 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Women's Volleyball All-Conference Team, it was announced today by Commissioner Del Malloy. In addition to the All-NECC honors, four separate major individual award winners and the team sportsmanship award were also voted upon and selected this week.
Southern Vermont College Mountaineer junior Libero Joanna Hogue of Los Gatos, California was named the 2010 NECC Women's Volleyball Defensive Specialist of the Year. Hogue, a political science major, led the NECC in digs at 128 and was third in digs per set at 4.57. Hogue was first in the NECC in service aces at 30 (1.07 per set). She also leads the NECC in overall stats at service aces with 74 (1.00 per set) and digs at 382 (5.16 per set).
"First of all, Joanna is my first official recruit as a Head Coach and without her, none of this is possible," said SVC Head Coach Joshua Stokes. "She started the domino effect of recruits and many more will follow her lead. This brings me to the point of saying that as a Captain, she put in just as much effort off the court as she has on. I can't tell you how proud of Joanna I am right now, she is a wonderful person and I am glad to see her name at the top of the Conference, and also as the proud owner of the career and single-season digs category in the history of SVC."
The Lesley University Lynx sophomore middle blocker Amanda McCracken (Eldersburg, Md.) was named the 2010 NECC Women's Volleyball Player of the Year. McCracken, a business management and art therapy major, led the NECC in hitting with a .524 attack percentage, kills at 125 (5.43 per set) and points at 150.5 (6.54 per set). She tallied 20 blocks and 11 service aces in conference play. McCracken was named NECC player for the week twice for 2010. In overall statistics, McCracken also tops all NECC players in attack percentage, kills and points. For the year, she has played in all 25 matches with 102 sets tallying 448 kills (4.39 kills per set), 39 service aces (0.38 per set), 114 digs (1.12 per set), 55 block solos and 40 block assists for 95 total blocks (0.93 per set) and five assists.
Elms College Blazer freshman setter Ashley Fuller (Amherst, Mass.) nabbed the 2010 NECC Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Year for her first season of collegiate play. Fuller, an education and communication major, earned three NECC Rookie of the Week awards. She finished NECC play with 166 assists which ranks second amongst conference setters. She was third in NECC play at 6.92 assists per set. In overall play, Fuller ranks 4th for assists with 486 assists (5.86 per set). Overall she finished play with 32 kills (.148 attack percentage), 39 service aces (0.47 per set), 170 digs (2.05 per set) and 27 total blocks (0.33 per set).
Daniel Webster College Eagles' head coach Braden Zamore was named the 2010 NECC Coach of the Year for the second straight time. He led the Eagles to a perfect 7-0 NECC finish and all-time program record for victories with a 18-7 overall record earning the #1 seed in the 2010 NECC women's volleyball championship.
The Wildcats of Bay Path College, led by head coach Natalie Crawford, were honored as the 2010 NECC Team Sportsmanship Award recipients. The Wildcats concluded conference play in sixth place with a 2-5 finish and 7-14 on the season. They earned the #6 seed in the 2010 NECC women's volleyball championships, their first ever post-season berth. Bay Path also set a single-season all-time program record for victories.
Voting for the All-NECC team and each of the major awards was conducted among all NECC women's volleyball coaches.
Joining Hogue on first team was fellow Mountaineers' junior outside hitter Ashliy Veliz of Glendale, California and junior setter Hershey Canta of Bataan, Philippines.
"When Ashliy made the decision to come out East, I knew that the team was better at that very moment," said Coach Stokes. "She really has stepped up and fought hard with a ton of pressure on her shoulders. Whenever we would travel to matches, the coaches would walk up to me and always ask about her. It's a compliment to her abilities to know that other coaches ask a lot of questions. I am proud of Ashliy and hopefully she knows how proud I am of her."
Canta tallied over 500 assists in the year and was solid from the service line with nearly 100 aces.
"Hershey coming to SVC was literally a last minute situation and it worked out perfectly for everyone," said Coach Stokes. "She has worked hard on the volleyball court and in the classroom. Hershey adapts well to all situations and has made me proud with her willingness to get the job done, plus her humor with life. It's also great to hear how much Hershey is loved by many of the administrators on campus and a ton by her team. "
Second team honors went out to six student-athletes including Fuller. Daniel Webster sophomore outside hitter Samantha Hill (Hudson, N.H.), Daniel Webster junior right side/middle blocker Emily Travis (Somerset, Mass.), Elms College junior outside hitter Stacy Croteau (Agawam, Mass.), Elms College junior outside hitter/setter Jenn Rego (Fall River, Mass.) and Mitchell College senior outside Stephanie McKeon (Ledyard, Conn.).
Six players received honorable mention including Newbury sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Williams (Medford, Mass.) and senior Libero Amy Chen (Chelmsford, Mass.), Elms senior middle hitter Melissa Clark (Chicopee, Mass.), Lesley sophomore outside hitter Megan Ortwein (Shanghai, China) and sophomore setter Kate Miller (Leesport, Penn.) along with Bay Path junior middle hitter Nadine Harkless (Westfield, Mass.).
2010 NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Amanda McCracken, Lesley, SO. (Eldersburg, Md.)
2010 NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Joanna Hogue, Southern Vermont, Jr., (Los Gatos, Calif.)
2010 NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Ashley Fuller, Elms, Fr., (Amherst, Mass.)
2010 NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL COACH OF THE YEAR: Braden Zamore, Daniel Webster
2010 NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD: Bay Path College
2010 ALL-NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL FIRST TEAM
Amanda McCracken, Lesley, Sophomore
Chelsey Crawford, Daniel Webster, Sophomore
Caitlyn DiPierro, Daniel Webster, Junior
Ashliy Veliz, Southern Vermont, Junior
Hershey Canta, Southern Vermont, Junior
Joanna Hogue, Southern Vermont, Junior
2010 ALL-NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL SECOND TEAM
Ashley Fuller, Elms, Freshman
Samantha Hill, Daniel Webster, Sophomore
Stacy Croteau, Elms, Junior
Emily Travis, Daniel Webster, Junior
Jenn Rego, Elms, Junior
Stephanie McKeon, Mitchell, Senior
2010 ALL-NECC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL HONORABLE MENTION
Stephanie Williams, Newbury, Sophomore
Amy Chen, Newbury, Senior
Melissa Clark, Elms, Senior
Kaitlyn Miller, Lesley, Sophomore
Megan Ortwein, Lesley, Sophomore
Nadine Harkless, Bay Path, Junior