Men's Volleyball Honors go to Burrell, Cerqua, Sanders and Dorwalski
The Empire 8 Athletic Conference (E8) has completed the inaugural season of men’s volleyball and the 2018 all-conference teams and award winners have been announced.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Thomas Burrell, Stevens Institute of Technology
Thomas Burrell is the starting middle hitter on the Ducks’ nationally ranked team that only lost two regular season matches to Division III opponents. Burrell leads all Division III players in hitting percentage (.514%) and blocks per set (1.469). He totaled 179 kills against 31 errors in 26 matches played. Throughout the regular season, Burrell hit over .600% in 12 matches including an impressive .889% against Elms when he had eight kills on nine attempts with no errors.
LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: David Cerqua, St. John Fisher
David Cerqua led St. John Fisher through its inaugural season of collegiate competion as the starting libero. Cerqua finished with a league-high 303 digs, making him the only Empire 8 player to have more than 300 on the season. His 2.86 digs per set ranked second in the league. Cerqua registered 15 double figure dig totals, including a season-high 20 digs against Penn St. – Behrend.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Scott Sanders, Sage
Scott Sanders made an immediate impact on the court as he played in all 27 matches for the Gators. He connected for 185 kills to go with his 2.26 kills per set average. He owns a team-best .464 attack percentage which ranks second amoung UVC players and third among Division III. . Sanders finished the season with 68 blocks and 233.5 points.
Sanders is the first Sage player to garner UVC Rookie of the Year honors as it is the first year Sage has been a member of the league.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Patrick Dorwalski, Stevens Institute of Technology
Patrick Dorwalski guided the Ducks to an impressive 23-4 record and one of the nations top-ranked teams throughout the season. Stevens was ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coaches preseason poll and has then spent the next 12 weeks at No. 2 or No. 3.
The Ducks swept 17 of their regular season opponents and only dropped 18 sets on the season. Stevens topped the Empire 8 in almost every statistical category; hitting percentage (.323), kills per set (12.93), assists per set (12.10), blocks per set (2.43) and service aces per set (1.51).
SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2018 Men’s Volleyball Sportsman 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 sportsmen.
Empire 8 2018 Men’s Volleyball All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year: Thomas Burrell, Stevens Institute of Technology
Defensive Specialist of the Year: David Cerqua, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Scott Sanders, Sage
Coach of the Year: Patrick Dorywalski, Stevens Institute of Technology