Stevens Institute of Technology placed five players on the all-conference teams and won three of the four 2017 yearly awards.
Sydni Horner earned Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year,
Casey King was named co-Player of the Year and Head Coach
Annie McShea and her staff were tabbed as the Coaching Staff of the Year. St. John Fisher College senior
Anna Marcy was voted the co-Player of the Year and freshman
Rebecca Hay and Hartwick College freshman
Maria Sorriento were voted co-Rookies of the Year.
King registered a .266 hitting percentage in conference matches that included 65 kills in 24 sets played. She also added 22 service aces, 59 digs and nine blocks. Her .92 aces per set ranked first in the conference 2.71 kills per set ranked tenth. Overall she has registered 369 kills, 57 aces, 295 digs and 46 blocks to date. King had 11 matches with a double-double in kills and digs including a season high 19 kills against NYU and Montclair State and 18 digs against Eastern and Middlebury. King is Stevens’ seventh E8 Player of the Year recipient in league history.
Marcy is the first Cardinal to earn Player of the Year honors. She played in 30 of a possible 31 matches and finished first on the team and second in the conference in kills (383) and kills per set (3.79). Her 56 aces led the team and ranked fifth among conference players, while her 261 digs ranked third on the team. March totaled double-digit kills in 23 different matches including a season high of 24 against Houghton.
Horner repeats as the Defensive Specialist of the Year for the third straight year, marking the first time in conference history the same player has been honored three times. She leads Stevens with 4.89 digs per set to rank 116th in the NCAA and her 553 total digs ranks 55th in the NCAA for the season. Horner has registered double figure digs 13 times, including a season-high 33 against Wesleyan University. In conference only matches she collected 96 digs in 25 sets played.
Hay is the fourth Cardinal to earn Rookie honors and the first since 2005. She played in 23 matches and dished out 10 or more assists in 21 matches, including her season-high of 48 against Alleghany. Her 7.18 assists per set ranked sixth among conference players. Hay also recored 46 aces and 152 digs during her rookie season.
Sorriento is the second Hawk to earn Rookie honors, as former Hawk Christina Evans earned the honor in 2007. She played in all 29 matches for the Hawks and led the team with 247 kills, which ranked tenth in the conference. Her 40 aces ranked first on the team, while her 26 blocks and 189 digs ranked third and fifth, respectively.
McShea and her staff have led Stevens to a current 26-7 overall record. Sixteen of the 26 wins were a 3-0 sweep. Stevens also posted a perfect 8-0 mark in the Empire 8 regular season, marking the fifth straight season in which Stevens has gone undefeated in conference play and the Ducks have won 45 straight regular season E8 matches.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2017 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 2017 Volleyball All-Conference Teams
Co-Player of the Year: Casey King, Stevens Institute of Technology
Co-Player of the Year: Anna Marcy, St. John Fisher College
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Sydni Horner, Stevens Institute of Technology
Co-Rookie of the Year: Rebecca Hay, St. John Fisher
Co-Rookie of the Year: Maria Sorriento, Hartwick College
Coaching Staff of the Year: Stevens Institute of Technology