Seven Named All-Region; DeHaven Regional Coach of the Year
As the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament get ever closer this coming weekend, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its annual All-Region Teams on Thursday morning with two Ithaca student-athletes named in the release. Stevens Institute of Technology senior
Mary Tobin, junior
Sydni Horner, sophomore
Brianna Perez, freshman
Sara Hain and freshman
Shelby Stewart and Ithaca junior
Joelle Goldstein was were each named
AVCA All-New York Region. Ithaca sophomore
Amanda Cerruti was an Honorable Mention selection
Additionally, Stevens head coach
Glenn DeHaven was named region coach of the year.
All-Region honorees will now be eligible for selection to the AVCA All-American Team, which is set to be released later this month.
Tobin led the Ducks this fall with 326 kills while hitting .218 for the season. The veteran also served as a force on defense with 322 digs, and was named First Team All-Empire 8 last week for the fourth season in-a-row. The region honor is the third of her illustrious career.
Horner picked up the all-region nod for the second time in her career after being named E8 defensive player of the year last week. Horner led the Ducks with 611 digs, leading the E8 in both total digs and digs per set.
Perez is making her first career appearance as an all-region honoree after leading the Ducks with 1,168 assists. Perez led the E8 in both average assists per set and total assists as she was named first team all-conference.
Hain earned the honor in her rookie season as she worked her way into being one of the top up-and-coming offensive weapons in the area. Hain recorded over 200 kills for the season, and was a menace on the net for opposing defenses with 106 block assists.
The nod adds another to the rookie season of Stewart after an all-conference award last week, off a season in which she tallied 167 kills with 20 digs. Stewart truly made her mark at the net however where she blocked a team-high 106 shots.
The announcement marked another accolade for Goldstein, who has already been named the Empire 8 Player of the Year and an All-Conference First-Team selection, as well as an All-Region Scholar by CoSIDA earlier this fall. The junior outside hitter turned in a pair of strong performances in helping lead Ithaca to its second consecutive Empire 8 Championship, combining for 19 kills, 19 digs and three service aces in victories over Nazareth and Stevens at the conference tournament last weekend. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player at the conclusion of the match on Sunday, which gave Ithaca the automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
On the year, Goldstein has amassed a team-best 315 kills and 46 service aces, while she ranks second on the team with 311 digs. She has posted 12 double-double efforts with 10-plus kills and 10-plus digs this season. The announcement marks the second straight year that Goldstein has been named an All-Region player by the AVCA. She is one of eight players in the New York Region to garner All-Region honors multiple times.
Cerruti has had a breakout season in her second year on South Hill, as she appeared in the AVCA All-Region release for the first time during her career. In addition to the Honorable Mention from the region's volleyball coaches, she also was an All-Conference Second-Team honoree by the Empire 8 this season.
One of the most feared net defenders in New York, she racked up 121.0 total blocks on the year, amassing 34 solo blocks and 87 block assists. Cerruti was also terrific on the offensive end as well, marking 215 kills on .262 hitting, both marks ranking second on the team among middle hitters. She played a big factor in helping Ithaca capture the Empire 8 title last weekend, combining for 12 kills, four solo blocks and six block assists over the two matches.