SAINTS DOMINATE ALL-CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL TEAMS
March 28, 2011
The Emmanuel College Saints landed six players on the All-Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Volleyball Teams. The Saints swept the Player of the Year balloting, as senior outside hitter Curtis Abram (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) was named the GNAC Player of the Year and senior libero Jake DeLuise (Wakefield, R.I.) was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Three Emmanuel players received 1st Team All-GNAC honors and three others were named either 2nd or 3rd Team All-Conference. This is Emmanuel's largest class of All-Conference selections.
Abram's Player of the Year nod came after the Saints' all-time kills leader received GNAC Player of the Week honors four different times during the 2011 season. This marks the first time an Emmanuel men's volleyball player has received GNAC Player of the Year honors. Abram has led the Saints' offense all season, averaging 4.07 kills and 0.89 aces per set, while hitting .368 for the year. Abram currently leads the nation in service aces and is ranked 10th in the country in kills. His number of service aces this year set a single-season program record at Emmanuel.
DeLuise was named the Defensive Player of the Year, another first for the Emmanuel program. DeLuise led the Saints' backrow, tallying 258 digs in his 103 sets played. His average of 2.50 digs per set leads the GNAC and ranks DeLuise 17th nationally in the category. In addition to being selected the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, DeLuise received 3rd Team All-GNAC honors.
Joining Abram on the 1st Team were classmate Tyson Rietz (Granite Bay, Calif.) and sophomore Nick Updike. Prior to his devastating season-ending injury, Rietz was second on the Saints' squad in kills, aces and digs. The senior outside hitter notched 2.20 kills, 0.66 aces and 2.10 digs per set. A 2nd team All-GNAC selection in 2010, Rietz was named the conference's Player of the Week back on February 28th this season.
Updike, the team's starting setter, is currently ranked 3rd in the GNAC and 5th in the nation in aces, averaging 0.61 per game. He is dishing out 8.51 assists, ranking him 4th in the GNAC and 24th nationally in assists per set. Updike was named to the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll four times as a rookie and was chosen the GNAC Player of the Week for the last week in January this season.
Emmanuel's 2nd Team All-GNAC picks included Thomas McCaffrey (Massapequa, N.Y.) and Cam Todd (Los Angeles, Calif.). This is McCaffrey's second-straight All-GNAC recognition, as he was named to the 3rd-Team last season. The senior middle led the Saints in blocking this year, setting the program-record for blocks in a single season. He is currently ranked 2nd in the conference and 3rd nationally in blocks, averaging 1.28 per set. Todd was named the conference's Player of the Week on February 8th this year. The senior middle hits .367, while averaging 1.62 kills per set. Todd is the Emmanuel program leader in career blocks. He has sent back a total of 72 blocks this season, ranking him second behind McCaffrey for total blocks this year.
Senior opposite Keoni Rabaino (Tucson, Ariz.), who has been a prior two-time All-GNAC pick, was named to the conference's All-Sportsmanship Team. Rabaino is third on the team in kills, averaging 1.78 per set, while hitting at a .242 clip.
2011 GNAC Men's Volleyball All-Conference Teams
1st Team
Curtis Abram - Emmanuel
Jared Andreozzi - Rivier
Tyson Rietz - Emmanuel
Spencer Hastings - Mount Ida
Andrew Glenn - Lasell
Nick Updike - Emmanuel
2nd Team
Thomas McCaffrey - Emmanuel
Thomas Belton - Mount Ida
Taylor Lindner - Rivier
Cam Todd - Emmanuel
Steven Velez - Johnson & Wales
Mike Harrington - Lasell
3rd Team
Alex Xenidis - Rivier
Steve Selnick - Emerson
Steve Visentin - Rivier
Aaron Almario - Rivier
Jake DeLuise - Emmanuel
Sam Kazlas - Rivier
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Curtis Abram, Emmanuel
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Jake DeLuise, Emmanuel
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Andrew Glenn, Lasell
COACH OF THE YEAR - Scott Reslow, Johnson & Wales
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
TBD - Albertus Magnus
Chris Davis - Emerson
Keoni Rabaino - Emmanuel
Dan Struebing - Johnson & Wales
Alex Mill - Lasell
Ryan Faer - Mount Ida
Aaron Almario - Rivier