Women's Volleyball | 11/8/2023 9:57:03 AM
The Empire 8 Conference announced its 2023 Women’s Volleyball All-Conference awards on Wednesday, November 8. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches. Regular season champion St. John Fisher earned a sweep of the major individual awards, as first-year standout Kaylene Noble was named both the Player and Rookie of the Year, Kiera Hartpence was the Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year and head coach Kelly Greapentrog, and her staff were named the E8 Coaching Staff of the Year.
Noble has enjoyed a tremendous debut season for the Cardinals, recording 323 kills to go along with 240 digs, 36 blocks and 32 service aces. Noble slammed at least 10 kills in 16 consecutive matches from Sept. 22 to Oct. 28. She has recorded 20 or more kills three times this season and had a 20-kill, 20-dig performance in a win on Oct. 7. In league play, Noble hit an impressive .357 with 3.88 kills and 4.58 points per set in eight matches. She was a three-time E8 Rookie of the Week and the conference’s Player of the Week on Oct. 9.
Noble is the second player in Empire 8 history to earn Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season, joining former St. John Fisher standout and four-year E8 Player of the Year Alea Steigerwald, who duplicated the feat in 2018.
Hartpence, a sophomore, was named the E8 Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year. Hartpence leads all Empire 8 players with 390 digs and is third, averaging 3.94 digs per set, in addition to 112 assists and 38 service aces. She has recorded at least 15 digs in 14 matches, including four contests with at least 20 digs. Hartpence averaged 4.1 digs per set in eight E8 regular season contests. She is the third St. John Fisher student-athlete player to earn Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year honors.
St. John Fisher head coach Kelly Greapentrog and her staff of assistant coach Nicksen Sivongsa and volunteer assistant coach Laura Thiele were honored as the Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year for the fourth time in the last five seasons. St. John Fisher went undefeated in league play at 8-0, is looking for its fifth straight Empire 8 Championship and is riding a 48-game winning streak in matches against league opponents dating back to the start of the 2019 season. Five Cardinals earned All-Empire 8 honors this season, headlined by Noble, the Player and Rookie of the Year.
Nazareth University junior setter/right side Tessa Grover, who was also the 2021 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, garnered All-E8 team honors for the third straight season, while graduate student Eleanor Cepiel, an outside hitter from Utica University earned her second straight All-E8 first team accolade. The trio of Noble, Hartpence and fellow first-year standout Ana Gutman represented regular season champion St. John Fisher on the first team, while Alfred University sophomore Taylor Malone, Hartwick College junior Staecia Silofau and Keuka College senior Dayna Edholm also garnered first team accolades.
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2023 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.
2023 Empire 8 Women’s Volleyball All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Kaylene Noble, Fr., OH, St. John Fisher
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Kiera Hartpence, So., L/DS, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Kaylene Noble, Fr., OH, St. John Fisher
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by head coach Kelly Greapentrog
Empire 8 First Team
Taylor Malone, So., OH, Alfred
Staecia Silofau, Jr., RS/OH, Hartwick
Dayna Edholm, Sr., OH, Keuka
Tessa Grover, Jr., S/RS, Nazareth
Ana Gutman, Fr., MB, St. John Fisher
Kiera Hartpence, So., L/DS, St. John Fisher
Kaylene Noble, Fr., St. John Fisher
Eleanor Cepiel, Gr., OH/RS, Utica
Empire 8 Second Team
Vanessa Seymour, Fr., S, Hartwick
Camey Knapp, Sr., MH, Keuka
Casey Hunziker, Sr., S, Keuka
Elaina Moisidis, L/DS, Russell Sage
Macey Salvione, Jr., OH, Russell Sage
Reilly Morrow, So., S, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Third Team
Casey Grange, Sr., OH, Alfred
Delaney Sims, So., S, Alfred
Niah Reeves, So., MH, Hartwick
Shelby Swartz, So., RS/OH, Hartwick
Shaelyn Thornton, Jr., OH, Hartwick
Emma Sipos, Sr., L/OH, Keuka
Leah Fusilli, So., OH, Nazareth
Delayne Young, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher
Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year
Fiona McNeil, Sr., MB, Alfred
Deanna Hathway, Jr., L/DS, Elmira
Sarah Petz, Gr., L/DS, Hartwick
Hannah Catalino, Sr., L/DS, Houghton
Emma Sipos, Sr., L/OH, Keuka
Jillian Panek, Sr., RS, Nazareth
Ashleigh Gerkman, So., OH, Russell Sage
Sophia Wypyski, So., L/DS St. John Fisher
Madison Maggiore, Sr., S, 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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