PHILADELPHIA'S RENDON VOTED CACC VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
NEW HAVEN, CT (November 11, 2009) - Philadelphia University senior outside hitter Celena Rendon has earned Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)Volleyball Player of the Year honors as the 2009 All-Conference team was released today. Caldwell College's Susan McDonough and Dominican College's Michelle Fiorvanti were named co-Rookies of the Year, while Dominican's Stefanie Carrington was tabbed Coach of the Year. The annual Team Sportsmanship Award was given to Nyack College for the sixth consecutive year. Voting was conducted by the 14 CACC head coaches.
Rendon, a 5-9 outside hitter from San Antonio, TX, was named the conference Player of the Year after an outstanding senior campaign. She currently leads the conference in service aces per-set (0.69) and she checks in with averages of 2.49 kills, 3.94 digs and 0.26 blocks per-set. Rendon has helped lead the Lady Rams to a 31-5 overall record this season along with a 17-2 mark in conference play. Rendon was named the CACC Player of the Week on Aug. 31. She was a second team All-Conference pick as a junior and freshman and earned Honorable Mention status as a sophomore.
McDonough and Fiorvanti both helped lead their teams to playoff berths in their first season on campus. McDonough, a 5-9 outside hitter from Saline, MI, ranks sixth in the CACC in kills per-set with 2.98 and she is averaging 3.37 digs and 0.32 blocks per-set. She leads her team in kills, kills per-set, serve percentage and she is second in digs and digs per-set. She has been named the CACC Player of the Week twice this season and Rookie of the Week on three occasions.
Fiorvanti, a 5-9 outside hitter from Commack, NY, was named CACC Rookie of the Week four times this season. She ranks second in the conference in kills per-set with 3.17 and she is 10th in hitting percentage (.224). She paces the Chargers in kills and kills per-set and is third in digs and hitting percentage. She averages 1.73 digs per-set.
Dominican head coach Stefanie Carrington led the Chargers to one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the country. Dominican is the No. 2 seed in the North Division in the CACC Tournament with a 22-9 overall record and a 15-4 mark in conference action. Last season, the Chargers finished last in the division after going 2-15 in conference play and a 2-25 overall. After a victory over Post University Tuesday night, DC has advanced to the semi-finals of the CACC Tournament for the first time since 2004. The Chargers rank third in the CACC in hitting percentage as a team (.173) after finishing second-to-last in the conference last season (.036).
The CACC postseason award-winners are listed below.
FIRST TEAM | ||||
L Jordan Beland | Holy Family | So. | Shrewsbury, PA | |
MH Nicole Berkstresser | Philadelphia | Sr. | Bridgewater, NJ | |
OH Janelle Murdock | Georgian Court | Sr. | Manahawkin, NJ | |
OH Ursula Pereira | Bloomfield | Sr. | Belo Horizonte, Brazil | |
OH Celena Rendon | Philadelphia | Sr. | San Antonio, TX | |
MH Stephanie Rivera | Georgian Court | Jr. | Toa Alta, Puerto Rico | |
S Lauren Roth | Caldwell | So. | Findlay, OH | |
SECOND TEAM | ||||
MH Tililola Alao | Caldwell | So. | Ossining, NY | |
L Natalie Amodei | Philadelphia | Sr. | West Chester, PA | |
MH Brianne Cercone | Nyack | Sr. | Gary, IN | |
S Lisamary Figueroa | Georgian Court | Sr. | Toa Alta, Puerto Rico | |
OH Michelle Fiorvanti | Dominican | Fr. | Commack, NY | |
OH Katie Hornback | Holy Family | So. | Indianapolis, IN | |
OH Susan McDonough | Caldwell | Fr. | Saline, MI |
Honorable Mention: Ana Cruz, Sr., L, Georgian Court; Meghan Frick, Jr., OH, Wilmington; Molly Malone, Sr., MH, Philadelphia; Whitney Ranger, Fr., S, Dominican
Player of the Year: Celena Rendon, Sr., OH, Philadelphia
Co-Rookies of the Year: Susan McDonough, Fr., OH, Caldwell and Michelle Fiorvanti, Fr., OH, Dominican
Coach of the Year: Stefanie Carrington, Dominican
Team Sportsmanship Award: Nyack College