Honors bestowed to Sage Men's Volleyball Players by UVC and Empire 8

April 12, 2018

Honors bestowed to Sage Men's Volleyball Players by UVC and Empire 8

SAGE'S MEN'S VOLLEYBALL PLAYER SCOTT SANDERS EARNS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STATUS FROM BOTH UVC AND EMPIRE 8; GUYTON AND SCHNAIBLE HONORED BY E8

Rochester, NY- The 2018 all-conference awards were announced on Thursday by both the United Volleyball Conference and the Empire 8 Conference. The Sage Colleges' men's volleyball team garnered numerous awards as the Gators' sophomore middle hitter Scott Sanders (Los Angeles, CA/Now from Niskayuna, NY/Taft) was tapped as the Rookie of the Year by both the UVC and the Empire 8.

He was also honored with selection to the UVC Honorable Mention Team, as well as the Empire 8 Second team. Senior outside hitter Ryan Guyton (Lockport, NY/Lockport) was named the Empire 8 Honorable Mention Team, while sophomore middle hitter Tyler Schnaible (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) was named to the 2018 Empire 8 Sportsman of The Year team.

Over the course of the year, Sanders earned Empire 8 and UVC rookie of the week honors six times. The latest coming on Monday after he helped Sage to a 2-0 week after adding a .688 hitting percentage. He also added 12 kills with 19.5 points on the week. He added two aces and had 10 total blocks as well with a perfect reception percentage. He nine block assists with two digs.

In his first year at Sage, Sanders certainly made an impact on the court. He connected for 185 kills to go with his 2.26 kills per set average. He owns a team-best .464 attack percentage. Sanders also has 233.5 points on the season, which was third on the squad. He was first total blocks with 68, while adding 56 block assists.

Guyton wrapped his outstanding career as a four-year letterwinner and three-time team captain. He holds Sage's career records for most points (1,409.0), most kills (1,117), most aces (197), while playing in a record 119 matches. He also added 527 digs, good enough for seventh on the career list. On the 2018 season, Guyton led the team with his 331.5 points and 273 kills. He was also tops on the season with his 43 aces.

Schnaible added 57 kills on the 2018 season and boasted a .274 attack percentage on the season. He added 26 total blocks with 81.5 points in 57 sets played in 22 matches for the Gators. A two-year letterwinner, he is also a member of Sage's men's golf team and the men's tennis team at Sage.

Sportsmanship Team

In addition to the yearly awards and all-conference teams, 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.

Top Honors go to Knigge, Nelson, Sanders and Miranda

2018 All-Conference Teams Announced

The United Volleyball Conference (UVC) regular season has ended and the 2018 all-conference teams and award winners have been announced.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Matthew Knigge, Vassar College

Matthew Knigge is the second player in the UVC's history to repeat as the Player of the Year, but he is the first to win the honor in back-to-back years. Knigge was a force all year long for the Brewers, producing both offensively and defensively. In 24 matches, the senior middle hitter amassed 384 kills and 120 blocks. The 6-foot-7-inch product of New Egypt, New Jersey, ranks second among all NCAA Division III men's volleyball players in kills per set (4.36), blocks per set (1.364) and points per set (5.52)

LIBERO/DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST OF THE YEAR: Thomas Nelson, MIT

Thomas Nelson is the second Engineer to earn UVC Libero of the Year honors, joining 2014 recipients Brandan Chang. The sophomore racked up 234 digs during the 2018 campaign, giving him a league-leading 3.16 digs per set. Nelson produced 12 matches with double-digit digs, including a five-set match win over Eastern Mennonite University where he totaled 28 digs.

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: Dan Miranda, Elmira College

Dan Miranda enjoys his first UVC top-coaching honor. He guided the Soaring Eagles to an impressive 20-11 record through the regular season, almost doubling its win total from a year ago in which Elmira finished with 11 wins. The success earned Elmira the No. 5 seed in the upcoming UVC Tournament.

In early February, the Soaring Eagles topped then ranked No. 5 Dominican University (Ill.) in five sets, giving Elmira its first win over a nationally ranked opponent since the second match of the 2017 season. It also makred the first time Elmira beat a top-5 team since January 2014.

Elmira earned a spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Coaches Poll in five of the twelve weeks. The Soaring Eagles were ranked No. 15 during three weeks and as high as No. 13 in week 5.

United Volleyball Conference 2018 All-Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Matthew Knigge, Vassar College

Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Thomas Nelson, MIT

Rookie of the Year: Scott Sanders, Sage

Coach of the Year: Dan Miranda, Elmira College

First Team Yr. Position School

Matthew Buffum Sr. MB Elmira College

Nick Smith Jr. S/OPP New Paltz

Ryan Cole Sr. MB/OH New Paltz

Neil Ferraro So. MB/OPP NYU

Thomas Burrell Sr. MH Stevens

Matthew Knigge Sr. MH Vassar College

Second Team Yr. Position School

Thomas Nelson So. L MIT

Matthew Grace So. S New Paltz

Alex Li So. OH NYU

David Lehman So. OPP Stevens

Jacob Patterson Jr. S Stevens

Zechariah Lee Sr. S Vassar College

Honorable Mention (min. 3 votes) Yr. Position School

Jeremy Best Jr. S Elmira College

Ryan McDonough Jr. OH Elmira College

Yize Dong Jr. S MIT

Skyler Kaufman Jr. MH MIT

Tavish Smith Sr. OH MIT

Sean Dillon So. MB Nazareth College

Jake Kemp Sr. S Nazareth College

Evan Lindley So. OPP NYU

Scott Sanders So. MH Sage

Gabe Shankweiler Gr. OH Stevens

Top Honors go to Burrell, Cerqua, Sanders and Dorwalski

2018 Empire 8 All-Conference Teams Announced

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

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 Hawks 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 Awards

Player of the Year: Thomas Burrell, Stevens Institute of Technology

Libero/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

First Team

Name Team Pos. Yr. Hometown/High School

Matthew Buffum Elmira MB Sr. Chesterfield, MO/Parkway Central

Jake Kemp Nazareth S Sr. Phelps, NY/Midlakes

Thomas Burrell Stevens MH Sr. Somerset, NJ/St. Joseph

David Lehman Stevens OPP So. Oakland, CA/Bentley

Jacob Patterson Stevens S Jr. Los Gatos, CA/Los. Gatos