Five Blazers Claim NECC Postseason Honors
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Four Elms College men’s volleyball players and head coach Sheila Gisbrecht were recognized with New England Collegiate Conference postseason honors on Monday afternoon as the league announced its 2018 All-Conference teams and major award winners.
Gisbrecht was voted as the NECC Coach of the Year and freshman Jovanny Torres was selected as the NECC Rookie of the Year while Jovanny and Jeremy Torres were voted to the All-NECC First Team and Martin Acevedo and Gabriel Levy each earned a spot on the All-NECC Second Team.
Jovanny Torres helped lead Elms to a 20-6 overall record, and a 10-2 regular season conference record. He played a key role in Elms’ 2018 NECC Championship win, for which he was named to the All-Tournament team. Elms is fifth in NCAA Division III in hitting percentage at 0.298, led by Torres’ .376 clip, which puts him second in the conference, as well as 14th in Division III. He also ranks sixth in the conference in blocks per set with 0.62. Torres earned NECC Rookie of the Week honors once (week ending 3/26/18).
In her tenth season at the helm for the Blazers, Gisbrecht led Elms to a 20-6 overall record and the NECC Championship, besting an Endicott squad that had won five straight heading into 2018. Her team led the conference in blocks per set (2.06), and was second in kills per set (12.23), assists per set (11.40) and service aces per set (2.02). The Blazers are ranked in the top ten in NCAA Division III in four major statistical categories, winning percentage (rank-10, .769), opponent hitting percentage (rank-5, 0.134), hitting percentage (rank-5, 0.298) and aces per set (rank-10, 2.02). Gisbrecht was also named the 2017 NECC Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year, after leading the Elms women to the NECC Conference Championship. This is Gisbrecht’s third NECC Coach of the Year accolade on the men’s side (2012, 2009).
Jeremy Torres averaged a team-best 3.52 kills per set, the third-best in the NECC, while hitting .286 for the season. He added 1.84 digs per set, 0.40 blocks per set and 21 service aces on his way to First-Team All-NECC honors.
Levy, meanwhile, averaged 1.98 kills per set and hit .275 on the season en route to his third consecutive All-NECC nod after earning first-team recognition in 2016 and 2017. He added 0.93 blocks per set and 0.75 digs per set and was selected as the NECC Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Acevedo ranked second on the team and 12th in the NECC with 2.37 kills per set. He hit .381 for the season and added .147 digs and 0.43 blocks per set to pick up Second-Team All-NECC recognition.
Endicott’s Bryn Lipton earned NECC Player of the Year honors while teammate Ryan Healy was voted as the NECC Defensive Player of the Year. Lipton joined teammates Donovan Dey and Troy Riorden along with Jeremy Torres, Jovanny Torres and Eastern Nazarene’s Kenny Sorensen on the All-NECC First Team.
Levy and Acevedo were joined by Endicott’s Seth Braquet and Jeremy Doski and Dean’s Joel Carmona and Diondre Gomes on the All-NECC Second Team.
Pablo Ortiz was selected to the NECC Sportsmanship Team, which features one player from each of the seven conference schools.
NECC Player of the Year: Bryn Lipton, Endicott (So., OH, Rockford, Ill.)
NECC Defensive Player of the Year: Ryan Healy, Endicott (Jr., L, Fair Lawn, N.J.)
NECC Rookie of the Year: Jovanny Torres, Elms (Fr., S/OH, Juncos, P.R.)
NECC Coach of the Year: Sheila Gisbrecht, Elms
First Team All-NECC
Donovan Dey, Endicott (So. OPP, Fairport, N.Y.)
Bryn Lipton, Endicott (So., OH, Rockford, Ill.)
Troy Riorden, Endicott (Sr., OPP, Fairport, N.Y.)
Kenny Sorensen, Eastern Nazarene (Sr., OH, Quincy, Mass.)
Jeremy Torres, Elms (Fr., OH, Juncos, P.R.)
Jovanny Torres, Elms (Fr., S/OH, Juncos, P.R.)
Second Team All-NECC
Martin Acevedo, Elms (Fr., OH/MH, Carolina, P.R.)
Seth Braquet, Endicott (Jr., MB, Destrehan, La.)
Joel Carmona, Dean (Fr., RS, Lawrence, Mass.)
Jeremy Doski, Endicott (Jr., OPP, Sandy Hook, Conn.)
Diondre Gomes, Dean (Fr., OH, Fairhaven, Mass.)
Gabriel Reis Levy, Elms (Sr., OH/OPP, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
All-NECC Sportsmanship Team
Dean Bennett, Dean (Sr., MB, Bloomfield, N.J.)
Andrew Shaw, Eastern Nazarene (Sr., OH, Weymouth, Mass.)
Pablo Ortiz, Elms (So., MH, Newington, Conn.)
Gabe Felicetti, Endicott (Fr., MB, Charlestown, R.I.)
Armando Bahena, Lesley (Fr., OH, South Boston, Mass.)
Oscar Chavez, Newbury (So., OH/DS, Independence, Ore.)
Zach Rogers, Southern Vermont (Fr., S/MB, North Bennington, Vt.)
