FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rivier, Wentworth each
collect two major individual awards
WINTHROP, Mass. – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is pleased to unveil its 2020 Men's Volleyball All-Conference Teams, as voted upon by the league's eight head coaches.
Receiving major award honors were Wentworth Institute of Technology senior Ryan Love and Rivier University senior Cam Roth, taking home Offensive Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors, respectively.
The pair was joined on the All-GNAC First Team by Johnson & Wales University (RI) sophomore Jack Pincince, Rivier seniors Pedro Campos, Francis Kokoros and David Smith, and Wentworth freshman Hunter Oshman, who was selected as the 2020 GNAC Rookie of the Year.
Longtime Rivier head coach Craig Kolek was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year, while the league office also announced its All-Sportsmanship Team (see below) and Colby-Sawyer College as the men's volleyball institutional sportmanship award winner.
From the First Team, the Rivier foursome helped guide the Raiders to a 12-4 overall record prior to the spring shutdown last month due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and were receiving votes in the AVCA Division III national poll.
Roth was fourth among GNAC leaders with 2.72 digs per set, while Campos led league leaders with 9.70 assists per set. Kokoros hit a stellar .363 to average 2.53 kills per set for the Raiders, and Smith was second in the GNAC at 3.43 kills per set to go along with averages of 0.53 blocks, 0.53 aces and 1.87 digs per set.
Love, the Offensive Player of the Year, hit .267 en route to 3.31 kills per set for Wentworth, as the Leopards were 12-5 overall when the season came to its unfortunate conclusion. WIT at one point was ranked nationally by the AVCA, along with Rivier.
Meanwhile Oshman, the Rookie of the Year, hit an impressive .282 while averaging 2.98 kills, 0.56 blocks and 1.42 digs per set.
Pincince, the reigning GNAC Rookie of the Year, was leading the GNAC at 3.58 kills per set at the season's end. The South Kingstown, R.I. native hit .241 and also averaged 0.55 blocks, 0.28 service aces and 1.97 digs per set.
In all, Rivier led the way with six All-GNAC selections, followed by JWU and Wentworth with five apiece and Lasell University with three all-league choices.
FIRST TEAM
Jack Pincince, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Pedro Campos, Rivier
Francis Kokoros, Rivier
Cam Roth, Rivier
David Smith, Rivier
Ryan Love, Wentworth
Hunter Oshman, Wentworth
SECOND TEAM
Seamus McDonagh, Emmanuel (Mass.)
Sanjae Holloway, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Jesus Garcia, Lasell
Scott Sterenberg, Lasell
Ian Carlson, Wentworth
Peter Klembczyk, Wentworth
Augusto Rodriguez-Guerrios, Wentworth
THIRD TEAM
Orlando Plagata, Colby-Sawyer
Josh Pitzer, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Ben Sandt, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Zach Turner, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Cobi Moore, Lasell
Kristjan Cortez, Rivier
Sokunbuth Ly, Rivier
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Ryan Love, Wentworth
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Cam Roth, Rivier
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Hunter Oshman, Wentworth
COACH OF THE YEAR – Craig Kolek, Rivier
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Colby-Sawyer
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Orlando Plagata, Colby-Sawyer
Samuel Willinger, Emerson
John Carroll, Emmanuel
Matt McCarthy, Johnson & Wales
Jesus Garcia, Lasell
Donovan Ross, Regis
Sokunbuth Ly, Rivier
Vinny Sottile, Wentworth
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 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –