General | 11/11/2019 9:59:32 AM
St. John Fisher sophomore outside hitter Alea Steigerwald earned her second consecutive Player of the Year honor, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2019 Women’s Volleyball All-Conference awards on Monday, Nov. 11. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
Steigerwald is enjoying another tremendous season for the Cardinals, with league-leading totals of 492 kills and 578 points. She is among the national leaders in both kills and points per set. Steigerwald has 22 double-doubles on the season and 28 matches with at least 10 kills and five with more than 20. Steigerwald also leads the Empire 8 with 67 service aces and has 387 digs. In just two seasons, Steigerwald is just 16 kills shy of 1,000 for her career.
Sophomore McKenzie Hart of Nazareth College was named the Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year, while first-year standout Lauren Gilbert of St. John Fisher was named the Rookie of the Year. Hart led all Empire 8 players with 508 digs, including 4.46 digs per set in 2019. She had at least 10 digs in all but five matches this season, including 11 contests with at least 20 digs. Hart tallied a career-best total of 39 digs in a five-set win over Medaille on Sept. 20. Gilbert, an outside hitter, is second to Steigerwald among all Empire 8 student-athletes with 339 kills and has also chipped in with 230 digs. She has slammed at least 10 kills in a match 17 times this season.
St. John Fisher enjoyed an historic regular season, going 7-0 in league play, while winning its first regular season title. The Cardinals continued their strong run into the postseason tournament, defeating Elmira College in the semifinals and Nazareth in the championship to win their first Empire 8 championship. St. John Fisher head coach Kelly Greapentrog and her staff were honored as the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year.
A trio of Cardinals earned first team honors, including Steigerwald, Gilbert and junior setter Rebecca Hay. Hay, the 2017 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, earned her third straight all-league honor. Alfred University senior Amber Smith capped off an incredible four-year career by earning her fourth straight All-Empire 8 honor and third first team selection. She was also the 2016 E8 Rookie of the Year. Senior Brooke Lewandowski of Houghton and classmate Melissa Newcomb of Nazareth were also named to the first team. Newcomb earned All-E8 honors for the third consecutive season.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2019 Women's Volleyball Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference 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.
2019 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball Award Winners
Player of the Year: Alea Steigerwald, So., OH, St. John Fisher
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: McKenzie Hart, So., Nazareth
Rookie of the Year: Lauren Gilbert, Fr., OH, St. John Fisher
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by Head Coach Kelly Greapentrog
Empire 8 First Team
Amber Smith, Sr., OH, Alfred
Brooke Lewandowski, Sr., OH/MB, Houghton
Melissa Newcomb, Sr., MH, Nazareth
Lauren Gilbert, Fr., OH, St. John Fisher
Rebecca Hay, Jr., S, St. John Fisher
Alea Steigerwald, So., OH, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Second Team
Savannah Terry, Jr., MB, Elmira
Toria Betelak, So., MH, Hartwick
Collette Maloney, Fr., OH, Hartwick
Amy Huddell, Sr., MB, Houghton
Haley Unverdorben, So., S, Houghton
Jessica Barry, Jr., S, Nazareth
Empire 8 Honorable Mention
McKenzie Hart, So., L/DS, Nazareth
Delaney Martin, Sr., OH/RS, Nazareth
Miranda Nethaway, Gr., MH, Sage
Lindsey DeBonis, Fr., OH, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Sarah Raeman, Jr., OH, Alfred
Lydia Milligan, Jr., OH, Elmira
Madison Germuska, Sr., RS, Hartwick
Ally Bittinger, Sr., OH/RS, Houghton
Julia Cavanaugh, Jr., MB, Nazareth
Caitlyn Class, Sr., RS, Sage
Isabella Smith, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher
Rosie Fesko, Fr., RS, Utica
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
www.empire8.com.
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