Men's Volleyball Sweeps All-NECC Honors
MEN'S VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS ALL-NECC HONORS
ATTLEBORO, MA, March 27, 2009 - The New England Collegiate
Conference (NECC) recently announced its inaugural men's volleyball
All-Conference teams and Elms College had six players and head
coach Sheila Gisbrecht honored.
In a vote of the conference's five head coaches, sophomore outside hitter Alberto Bravo (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) was named NECC Player of the Year, freshman outside hitter Sequiel Sanchez Velez (San Sebastian, Puerto Rico) earned NECC Rookie of the Year honors and Coach Gisbrecht was voted NECC Coach of the Year.
Bravo, who became the program's all-time leader in kills earlier this season, has hammered down a staggering, team-leading 391 kills through the Blazers' first 28 matches and is among the nation's top 10 Division III leaders in that category.
Sanchez Velez, meanwhile, has posted 291 kills, recorded a .342
hitting percentage and is 10th nationally in Division
III in kills per set. He has also scooped up 172 digs to rank
23rd nationally and registered 30 aces to rank
19th.
Gisbrecht, who was named NECC Women's Volleyball Coach of the Year last November, has already led the men's volleyball team to its second most wins at the time of the NECC Tournament and has the Blazers just four wins away from the program's first-ever 20-win season.
Bravo and Sanchez Velez, who were also named First Team All-NECC, were joined by junior setter Ivan Andujar (Carolina, Puerto Rico). Andujar, who became the first player in team-history to hand out 3,000 career assists, came into the NECC Tournament as the conference's leader in aces and has dished out 869 assists through 28 matches. He is 11th nationally in aces per set and 16th in assists.
Senior libero Marc Carrasco (Tucson, AZ) and
freshman middle hitter Vincent Cruz (Harwinton,
CT) both earned Second Team All-NECC honors and freshman
setter Jesus Echevarria (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
was named Honorable Mention.
Carrasco, the program's all-time leader in digs, has recorded a team-leading 261 digs to rank ninth nationally in Division III through the Blazers' first 28 matches.
Cruz, meanwhile, has knocked down 164 kills, has hit .333 and is second on the team with 68 total blocks, while Echevarria has handed out 371 assists and recorded 143 digs in 25 matches.