BENNINGTON, Vt. – For the second-consecutive season, Southern Vermont outside hitter Jessica Alvarez (Los Angeles, Calif.) has been named the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Women's Volleyball Player of the Year.  The senior captain is joined by teammate Danielle Healis (Escondido, Calif.) on the All-NECC First Team.

                Fellow Mountaineers Carrie Baltazar (Whittier Calif.) and Ashily Veliz (Los Angeles, Calif.) were named to the All-NECC Second Team, and head coach Josh Stokes was selected by his conference peers as the NECC Coach of the Year, the second-straight year in which he has received the honor.

                Said Stokes of all the accolades, "It's great to wake up to more amazing moments for SVC Volleyball."

                Stokes coached the Mountaineers to an NECC Championship repeat, going 8-0 in the conference regular season and then winning the semifinal and championship matches this past weekend.  SVC is now 24-6 going into this weekend's NCAA New York Regional Tournament at Clarkson University.  Seventh-seeded Southern Vermont will matchup against No. 2 Middlebury College in the opening round.

                Alvarez leads the league averaging 3.54 kills per set with a .378 hitting percentage against conference opponents.  She also added 3.12 digs per set and 16 service aces.  Healis landed first team honors with a .511 hitting percentage in conference (4.39 overall) and 0.91 blocks per set against NECC teams.

                Veliz grabs her second all-conference selection (First Team, '10) with 195 kills (2.24 per set) and 100 digs.  Baltazar leads the conference with 8.22 assists per set; she also chipped in 48 kills and 63 service aces, 21 of those aces coming against conference opponents.

 

2012 NECC Women's Volleyball All-Conference Team

Player of the Year
Jessica Alvarez, Southern Vt. (Sr, OH - Eagle Rock, Calif)

Defensive Player of the Year
Kacie Bayreuther, Bay Path (So, L - East Lyme, Conn.)

Rookie of the Year
Amanda Garcia, Mitchell (Fr., M - New Britain, Conn.)

Coach of the Year
Josh Stokes, Southern Vt.

Team Sportsmanship Award
Bay Path College

First Team
Jessica Alvarez, Southern Vt. (Sr, OH - Eagle Rock, Calif)
Kacie Bayreuther, Bay Path (So, L - East Lyme, Conn.)
Chelsey Crawford, Daniel Webster (Sr., MB - Westfield, Mass.)
Sydney Fish, Newbury (So., MH - Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Sara Gold, Regis (Jr., DS - North Hollywood, Calif.)
Danielle Healis, Southern Vt. (Sr., MH - Escondido, Calif.)

Second Team
Carrie Baltazar, Southern Vt. (Jr., S - Whittier, Calif.)
Jennifer Finneran, Daniel Webster (Sr., MB - Barnstead, N.H.)
Vanessa Noesi, Regis (Jr., MH - Puerta Plata, D.R.)
JC Pickett, Elms (So. MH - Chicopee, Mass.)
Arianna Thomas, Mitchell (Sr. OH/L - Fresno, Calif.)
Ashily Veliz, Southern Vt. (Sr. OH - Los Angeles, Calif.)

Honorable Mention
Samantha Hill, Daniel Webster (Sr. OH - Hudson, N.H.)
Megan Ortwein, Lesley (Sr., OH - Shanghai, China)
Nicole Terni, Mitchell (Jr. S - Montville, Conn.)
Jessy Touron, Newbury (Jr. OH - Brockton, Mass.)
Sarah Young, Newbury (Sr. S - Waterloo, N.Y.)