Post's Skylar German Named CACC Volleyball Player of the Year for the Third Season in a Row
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 14, 2016) -- Post University standout Skylar German etched her name further into conference lore on Monday, as she was named the 2016 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Volleyball Player of the Year, marking the third-consecutive season she was named the league's top player. The announcement of German's honor, along with other major awards and the all-conference teams, was made by Commissioner Dan Mara.
German was joined by several other standouts as major award winners, including Goldey-Beacom College's Lindsay Przywara (CACC Rookie of the Year), Caldwell University's Jessica Mitchell (CACC Defensive Player of the Year) and Post's Mike Brienza (BSN Sports CACC Coach of the Year).
German, who was also named to the All-CACC First Team, leads the CACC in hitting percentage at .387, while also ranking among the top five in points per set (2nd, 4.7), solo blocks (3rd, 26), total blocks (3rd, 100), blocks per set (3rd, 1.05), kills (5th, 350), kills per set (5th, 3.68), block assists (5th, 74) and total points (5th, 450.0).
German, a senior middle blocker, posted eight double-doubles in 2016, including a season-high 21 kills to go along with 13 digs in the season-opening contest versus NYIT. German dug out a season-best 18 balls in a 3-0 sweep of Bloomfield College on Nov. 2.
Przywara was named the league's top rookie after the outside hitter ranked among the league leaders in several categories including kills per set (4th, 3.72), total kills (6th, 331) and points per set (6th, 4.2). In addition to being named the CACC Rookie of the Year, Przywara was also placed on the All-CACC Third Team for her outstanding play as a freshman.
Mitchell was named CACC Defensive Player of the Year after she led the league in digs (630) and ranked second in digs per set (5.68). She had at least 20 digs in 16 matches during the regular season, including a season-high 40 versus Georgian Court University on Oct. 1. Mitchell garnered a spot on the All-CACC Third Team at libero as well.
Brienza was named the BSN Sports Coach of the Year after guiding Post to its third-consecutive CACC North Division Regular Season Championship in 2016. The Eagles posted a 17-2 record in CACC play during the regular season and are 25-4 overall, while also being regionally ranked in the NCAA Division II East Region poll.
The other major award handed out on Monday was the CACC Team Sportsmanship Award, which was given to Felician University for demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship and character throughout the 2016 season.
German was joined on the All-CACC First Team by six other standouts including Samantha Rios (Bloomfield College, libero), Brianna Root (Post, setter), Kelsie Blue (Georgian Court, middle blocker), Corinne Justus (Philadelphia University, MB), Katrina Janssen (Caldwell University, outside hitter) and Courtney Wensel (Philadelphia, OH).
The All-CACC Second Team featured seven standouts as well and included Regina Trabosh (Chestnut Hill College, libero), Alexandra Harrington (PhilaU, setter), Emily Koehler (Chestnut Hill, MB), Nayade Paulino (Bloomfield, MB), Valerie Bermudez (Bloomfield, OH), Hailey Griffin (Post, OH) and Chase Wassel (Holy Family University, OH).
Mitchell and Przywara were joined by five other honorees on the all-league third team. The remaining five members were Kennedy Sutton (Chestnut Hill, setter), Amber Johnson (PhilaU, MB), Gianna Pesognelli (HFU, MB), Morgan Griffin (Post, OH) and Peggy Rosario (Georgian Court, OH).
Each of the honorees will be recognized at the CACC Volleyball Championship Banquet on Friday night in Wilmington, Del., as Wilmington University will serve as host to the 2016 conference semifinals and final.
The 2016 CACC Volleyball Championship gets started Tuesday night with the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. at the sites of the highest seeds. Tuesday's four winners will advance to Saturday's semifinals at 1 and 3:30 p.m. at WilmU. The highest remaining seed entering the semis will play in the day's first match. The two semifinal winners on Saturday will advance to the championship final on Sunday at noon, as the winner of that contest will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Philadelphia University, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Skylar German (Post University)
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Lindsay Przywara (Goldey-Beacom College)
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR}
Jessica Mitchell (Caldwell University)
2016 BSN SPORTS CACC VOLLEYBALL COACH OF THE YEAR
Mike Brienza (Post University)
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Felician University
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
L Samantha Rios (Bloomfield College)
S Brianna Root (Post University)
MB Kelsie Blue (Georgian Court University)
MB Skylar German (Post University)
MB Corinne Justus (Philadelphia University)
OH Katrina Janssen (Caldwell University)
OH Courtney Wensel (Philadelphia University)
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
L Regina Trabosh (Chestnut Hill College)
S Alexandra Harrington (Philadelphia University)
MB Emily Koehler (Chestnut Hill College)
MB Nayade Paulino (Bloomfield College)
OH Valerie Bermudez (Bloomfield College)
OH Hailey Griffin (Post University)
OH Chase Wassel (Holy Family University)
2016 CACC VOLLEYBALL ALL-CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM
L Jessica Mitchell (Caldwell University)
S Kennedy Sutton (Chestnut Hill College)
MB Amber Johnson (Philadelphia University)
MB Gianna Pesognelli (Holy Family University)
OH Morgan Griffin (Post University)
OH Lindsay Przywara (Goldey-Beacom College)
OH Peggy Rosario (Georgian Court University)