FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rivier's Campos, Kolek earn GNAC
Offensive Player, Coach of the Year honors
WINTHROP, Mass. – Rivier University junior setter Pedro Campos has been selected as the 2019 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's eight head coaches. Additionally, 23rd-year Rivier head coach Craig Kolek was named the GNAC Coach of the Year, after Kolek helped guide the Raiders to their second straight and ninth-ever GNAC title this past weekend.
Lasell College senior libero Jordan Aprea was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and Johnson & Wales University (RI) freshman Jack Pincince was honored as the GNAC Rookie of the Year to round out the major awards, as the GNAC announced its 2019 All-Conference Teams on Tuesday.
Colby-Sawyer College was also awards with the GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award in the sport, as the Chargers were competing in their inaugural season. For the complete list of All-Conference honorees and All-Sportsmanship Team members, please see below.
Campos led the GNAC and is currently fifth in the nation with 10.27 assists per set for the Raiders, as the First Team choice from Downey, Calif. was also named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team on Saturday after Rivier's 3-0 championship victory over second-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology. Rivier will take on Arcadia this Friday at Springfield in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Aprea, who hails from Newington, Conn., capped his career with the major honor and All-GNAC First Team recognition, averaging 3.10 digs per set for the Lasers, while Pincince jumped onto the GNAC scene for the Wildcats, who fell in the GNAC Semifinals at Wentworth in a five-set thriller. He finished sixth in the GNAC in kills per set (2.96), sixth in hitting percentage (.289), and tied for 11th in service aces per set (0.31), as the South Kingstown, R.I. native was named to the All-GNAC Second Team.
Following a vote by his coaching peers, Kolek was voted Coach of the Year for the second straight season. Earlier this month, he became the fourth head coach in men's volleyball history (all divisions) to exceed the 500-win mark, joining Ohio State's Pete Hanson, Stevens' Patrick Dorywalski, and Penn State's Mark Pavlik.
Joining Campos and Aprea on the GNAC First Team were Emmanuel College senior Erik English, JWU senior Cameron Ponce, Rivier junior David Smith, and Wentworth juniors Ryan Love and Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios.
English was third among league leaders in kills per set (3.47), first in service aces per set (0.75), and fifth in digs per set (2.39). Ponce's well-rounded game saw him average 1.59 kills, 5.65 assists, 0.62 blocks, 0.37 aces, and 2.17 digs per set for the Wildcats. Smith averaged 2.97 kills and 1.31 digs per set while hitting .270.
For Wentworth, which advanced to the GNAC Championship game for the fourth straight season, Love was second in the GNAC at 3.49 kills per set (.291) and setter Rodriguez-Guerrios averaged 8.26 assists and 1.58 digs per set for the Leopards.
First Team
Erik English, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr., OH, Simi Valley, Calif.)
Cameron Ponce, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., S, San Jose, Calif.)
Jordan Aprea, Lasell (Sr., DS, Newington, Conn.)
Pedro Campos, Rivier (Jr., S, Downey, Calif.)
David Smith, Rivier (Jr., OH, Clinton, Ohio)
Ryan Love, Wentworth (Jr., OH, Gaithersburg, Md.)
Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios, Wentworth (Jr., S, San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Second Team
Seamus McDonagh, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Jr., S, Long Beach, N.Y.)
Sanjae Holloway, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., OH, East Hartford, Conn.)
Jack Pincince, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Fr., OH, South Kingstown, R.I.)
Dashaun Graham, Rivier (Sr., MH, Highland Falls, N.Y.)
Cam Roth, Rivier (Jr., OH, Coventry, R.I.)
Khaynen Yocca, Rivier (Sr., MH, Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Xhuljo Zyba, Wentworth (Jr., RS, Holbrook, Mass.)
Third Team
Mark Piorkowski, Emerson
Donovan Kelley, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Sr., MB, Encinitas, Calif.)
Josh Pitzer, Johnson & Wales (RI) (Jr., MB, North Kingstown, R.I.)
Andy Henriquez, Lasell (Sr., S, Lawrence, Mass.)
Jack Normandin, Rivier (Fr., OH, Clifton Park, N.Y.)
Ryan Engel, Wentworth (Jr., OH, Floral Park, N.Y.)
Peter Klembczyk, Wentworth (So., L, Penfield, N.Y.)
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Pedro Campos, Rivier
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jordan Aprea, Lasell
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Jack Pincince, Johnson & Wales (RI)
COACH OF THE YEAR – Craig Kolek, Rivier
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Colby-Sawyer College
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Marc Flaherty, Colby-Sawyer (Sr., DS, Danvers, Mass.)
Sam Willinger, Emerson (So., MB, Golden Beach, Fla.)
John Carroll, Emmanuel (Jr., MH, Massapequa, N.Y.)
Peter Medici, JWU (Jr., L, Exeter, R.I.)
Conor Leary-Watson, Lasell (So., MB, Bethany, Conn.)
Dashaun Graham, Rivier (Sr., MH, Highland Falls, N.Y.)
Dimitri Stewart, Regis (Fr., OH, Paterson, N.J.)
Kevin Devine, Wentworth (So., OH, Charlotte, Vt.)
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. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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