The Empire 8 announced its 2010 Volleyball All-Conference team with sophomore outside hitter Sasha Zavadska of Elmira College being the unanimous choice as Empire 8 Player of the Year.
Zavadska, a second-team all-conference selection in 2009, led the Soaring Eagles to a 6-2 conference record and the third seed in the Empire 8 Volleyball Championship, their first tournament bid since 2005. She averaged 4.5 kills and 3.4 digs per set in conference play, posting a hitting percentage of .304. Overall, she is averaging 4.3 kills per set.
First-year outside hitter Taryn Rumsey of Elmira was selected as Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. She averaged 2.3 kills and 2.9 digs per set in conference round robin play. Overall, she is averaging 2.4 kills, 2.2 digs, and a team-leading 0.5 service aces per set.
Junior outside hitter Jessica Hoeffner and junior middle blocker Kate Thoene of top-seeded Ithaca College were named to the all-conference first team. Hoeffner hit .313 and averaged 3.5 kills per set in round robin play. She was named Empire 8 Player of the Week for leading the Bombers to a 4-0 mark in the second conference weekend. Thoene averaged 2.4 kills and 1.4 blocks in conference play.
Senior outsider hitter Jessica Schaffer of Rochester Institute of Technology, who earned first-team all-conference honors when she last played in the 2007 season, was named to first team. She averaged 3.5 kills and 2.7 digs per set in leading the Tigers to a berth in the Empire 8 tournament.
Junior middle blocker Ashlee Travis of second-seeded Nazareth College was named to the all-conference first team. She averaged 2.1 kills and 1.0 blocks per set in Empire 8 play, and recorded a .348 hitting percentage.
Sophomore right-side hitter Maggie Kowalska of Stevens Institute of Technology repeated as an all-conference first-team selection. She hit .316 in round robin play, averaging 2.9 kills and 1.1 blocks per set. Senior libero Julia Reilly of the Ducks was chosen as the Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year after averaging 3.8 digs per set in Empire 8 regular season play.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2010 Volleyball Sportswoman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
Empire 8 2010 Volleyball All-Conference Awards
Player of the Year: Sasha Zavadska, Elmira College
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Julia Reilly, Stevens Institute of Technology
Rookie of the Year: Taryn Rumsey, Elmira College
All-Conference Release