FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WINTHROP, Mass. – Wentworth Institute of Technology has collected all three major student-athlete awards as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference announced its 2018 men's volleyball all-conference teams on Tuesday afternoon. Wentworth senior setter Collin Ritter was voted the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season by the league's head coaches, while Leopards senior middle hitter Ollie Oshman was selected as the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. First-year libero Peter Klembczyk from Wentworth took home GNAC Rookie of the Year accolades.
Ritter hit .358 and averaged 2.85 kills, 5.41 assists, 0.90 blocks and 1.79 digs per set this season for Wentworth. Meanwhile, Oshman is the GNAC-leader in hitting percentage (.508) while averaging 2.30 kills and 1.29 blocks per set. Klembczyk ranked fifth in the conference with 245 digs this season, averaging 2.45 per set.
Ritter and Oshman both garnered All-GNAC First Team recognition, as did Johnson & Wales University (RI) junior setter Cameron Ponce and junior libero Alex Seda, and Rivier University senior outside hitter Grant Andler, Rivier senior setter Garrett Bucklin, and Rivier junior middle hitter Dashaun Graham.
Ponce averaged 1.27 kills, 6.28 assists, 0.57 blocks, and 2.21 digs per set for the Widlcats, who earned the No. 3 seed in the GNAC Tournament. His Classmate Seda ranked fifth among GNAC leaders in digs per set (2.64).
Andler, Bucklin and Graham helped lead the Raiders past Wentworth in the GNAC Championship this past weekend, as Rivier swept the Leopards, 3-0, for its first conference crown and NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. Rivier will be at host Springfield to take on Lancaster Bible this Friday evening, April 20 (6:00 PM).
Andler is hitting .390 and averaging 3.28 kills per set, good for second among GNAC leaders, entering NCAA play, while Bucklin, who was named the GNAC Tournament MVP on Saturday following the championship bout, is tops in the GNAC and amongst the Division III leaders with 10.61 assists per set. Graham is averaging 2.32 kills and 1.22 blocks blocks per set while hitting an impressive .344.
Longtime Rivier head coach Craig Kolek was voted as the GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers, as the Raiders led the way with seven total All-Conference selections after going 14-0 in conference play before capturing the tournament championship.
Mount Ida College was awarded with the GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award for men's volleyball. For the complete All-Conference selections, including the All-Sportsmanship Team, please see below.
FIRST TEAM
Cameron Ponce, Johnson & Wales (Jr., S, San Jose, Calif.)
Alex Seda, Johnson & Wales (Jr., L, San Juan, P.R.)
Grant Andler, Rivier (Sr., OH, Chicago, Ill.)
Garrett Bucklin, Rivier (Sr., S, Jamestown, R.I.)
Dashaun Graham, Rivier (Jr., MH, Highland Falls, N.Y.)
Ollie Oshman, Wentworth (Sr., MH, Pennington, N.J.)
Collin Ritter, Wentworth (Sr., S, Feeding Hills, Mass.)
SECOND TEAM
Erik English, Emmanuel (Jr., OH, Simi Valley, Calif.)
Seamus McDonagh, Emmanuel (So., S, Long Beach, N.Y.)
Matt LaVasseur, Johnson & Wales (Jr., MB, Salem, N.H.)
Dahnny Rogers, Rivier (Jr., L, Penfield, N.Y.)
David Smith, Rivier (So., S, Clinton, Ohio)
Ryan Love, Wentworth (So., OH/RS, Gaithersburg, Md.)
Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios, Wentworth (So., S, Guaynabo, P.R.)
THIRD TEAM
Nick Rusk, Emerson (Sr., OH/S, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Sanjae Holloway, Johnson & Wales (So., OH, East Hartford, Conn.)
Zach Turner, Johnson & Wales (So., MB, Coventry, R.I.)
Jordan Aprea, Lasell (Jr., OH/DS, Newington, Conn.)
Brett Krahl, Regis (Sr., MB, Santa Clarita, Calif.)
Cam Roth, Rivier (So., OH, Coventry, R.I.)
Khaynen Yocca, Rivier (Jr., MH, Pittsburgh, Pa.)
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Collin Ritter, Wentworth
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ollie Oshman, Wentworth
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Peter Klembczyk, Wentworth
COACH OF THE YEAR – Craig Kolek, Rivier
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Mount Ida College
GNAC ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Marcus Cepeda, Emerson (Fr., Sacramento, Calif.)
John Carroll, Emmanuel (So., Massapequa, N.Y.)
Matt McCarthy, Johnson & Wales (So., Millis, Mass.)
Jordan Aprea, Lasell (Jr., Newington, Conn.)
Mason Leonard, Mount Ida (Fr., Langdon, N.H.)
Sebastian Valdes, Regis (Mass.) (Fr., Diamond Bar, Calif.)
Dahnny Rogers, Rivier (Jr., Penfield, N.Y.)
Kevin Devine, Wentworth (Fr., Charlotte , Vt.)
Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.
– #TheGNAC –