American East Volleyball honoured by the AVCA – Volleyball Update
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honoured three outstanding players of America East Volleyball this week. The trio earned All-Region mentions and also received individual honours. The names of the honourees are as followed:
Alicia Nelson – Apple Valley, Minnesota Laurie Gonzalez – Carolina, Puerto Rico Casey Wright – Ballston Spa, New York
Nelson was part of the Stony Brook Seawolves and led the conference in kills. She recorded 4.39 per set and scored 4.92 points per set. She proved her endeavours as a powerful hitter and had 13 double-doubles. She registered double-digit kills in all but
three matches. On account of her stellar performance, she was named the East America Player of the Week for three times during the regular season.
Earlier this season, Nelson joined the group of eight players who passed 1,000 careers kills in the program's history. She also played an instrumental role in leading the Seawolves to the America East finals for the first time since 2007. The American Volleyball
Coaches Association acknowledged her skills and named her as the 2011 America East Player of the Year.
Gonzalez of Ualbany settled for the award of the America East Defensive Specialist of the Year. This is the consecutive fourth season that she has earned the honour. The Great Danes finished off the season with a wonderful 21-9 record and 10-1 league play.
She averaged 5.16 digs per set and emerged as the top defence expert in her team. In addition to her ability to dig, she is an excellent hitter. She led the team with 28 aces on the year. Overall, she reached double-digit kills in 29 out of 31 matches. Moreover,
she pitched out double-digit digs in 22 straight matches and had multiple service aces in ten matches. Gonzalez deserved to be nominated for the Defensive Specialist of the Year and she eventually earned the honour. She was also named to the COBRA Magazine
All-Northeast Region Team.
Wright spent a successful season with the Ualbany Great Danes. She played at middle blocker’s position and did exceptionally well for her team. Like her teammate Gonzalez, she also turned many heads around and settled for AVCA All-Region Award. She led the
Great Danes with 3.37 kills per set on the season and also led the America East with hitting percentage of .334. She averaged 1.04 blocks per set and saved many crucial points for Ualbany. More specifically, she totalled 118 blocks which included 47 solo blocks.
She registered double-digit kills in 19 matches and reached career-high 25 kill in match against McNeese State. The native of Ballston Spa, N.Y. staged an eye-catching action throughout the season and got hold of the honour.
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