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Somerset, NJ – Long Island sophomore outside hitter Hanna Gibeau (Arvada, CO/Ralston Valley) added an exclamation point to a stellar sophomore season by taking home Northeast Conference (NEC) Women's Volleyball Player of the Year honors on Friday. Fellow Blackbirds Vera Djuric (Lazarevac, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic) and Annika Foit (Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium) also earned major awards as Djuric, a freshman, was unanimously voted NEC Setter of the Year while Foit was tabbed NEC Rookie of the Year. Long Island collected a fourth honor as head coach Kyle Robinson was voted the NEC Coach of the Year. Sacred Heart senior libero Jessica Colberg (Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Polytechnic) represented the Pioneers in the major awards category by claiming NEC Libero of the Year accolades.
The awards were presented at the banquet on the eve of the 2011 NEC Women's Volleyball Tournament, set to begin on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Long Island University in Brooklyn. Top-seeded Long Island will battle No. 4 Robert Morris at 3:00 p.m. in the first of two semifinal matches. Second seeded Sacred Heart will then take on No. 3 Central Connecticut at 5:30 p.m. The championship match is slated for Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3:00 p.m. The winner of the NEC Tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After a season highlighted by four Molten/NEC Player of the Week honors, Gibeau collected the ultimate prize of NEC Player of the Year to cap off a stellar second year in Brooklyn. The outside hitter and first team All-Conference pick finished the regular season second in the league in kills (481) and kills per game (4.26), helping the Blackbirds to the second highest kills per game (13.00) average in the league. Gibeau, a back-to-back All-Conference first team selection, has also been strong defensively for Long Island collecting 61 blocks and 232 digs on the season. The sophomore proved to be particularly effective in the latter half of the season as Gibeau took home three of her four Molten/NEC Player of the Week honors in the last month of the 2011 campaign. She is the sixth NEC Player of the Year in school annals, all coming since the 2003 season.
Djuric made an immediate impact for the Blackbirds, and claimed the NEC Setter of the Year award as well as first team All-NEC honors for her efforts. The unanimous selection currently leads the league in assists with 10.72 per game. Djuric has also put up strong defensive numbers, tallying 73 blocks and 243 digs this fall. The native of Serbia also earned back-to-back Molten/NEC Rookie of the Week honors in late October after she amassed five double-doubles in as many matches.
A four-time recipient of the league’s Molten/NEC Rookie of the Week award,Foit became the third player in LIU history to be named NEC Rookie of the Year. Bolstered by consistent play, the opposite hitter totaled 388 total kills to average 3.53 per game, good for sixth in the league. The first team All-NEC selection also averaged 2.40 digs per game, second on the club, and registered 62 blocks. The Hausach, Germany native brings a head of steam into the postseason after ending the regular season with a double-double (24 kills, 10 digs) against # 4 seed Central Connecticut.
Since taking over the Long Island program in 2008, Robinson has won two NEC Tournament titles and posted an impressive 46-10 conference record. After capturing the NEC crown in his first season, Robinson led the Blackbirds to a perfect 16-0 conference record and repeated as tourney champ in 2009. Robinson has coached two NEC Players of the Year as well as numerous All-Conference and All-Tournament honorees. This season he led the Brooklyn based program to a share of the regular season championship and top seed in the NEC Tournament with a 14-2 league record. His team heads into the postseason as the NEC leader in hitting percentage and blocks per game. Robinson joins Toby Rens (2005) as NEC Coach of the Year award winners at Long Island.
Rounding out the major award winners is Colberg, who capped off her senior season for Pioneers in stellar fashion by claiming NEC Libero of the Year and first team All-NEC honors. The California native has posted 475 digs on the season to average 4.13 per game, ranking her fifth in the Conference. Colberg had great success during league play in her senior year, recording a season-high 31 digs against Central Connecticut at the beginning of October after tallying 25 just a day earlier against Bryant. She earned one Molten/NEC Player of the Week nod and two Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week plaudits this fall as well as All-Tournament recognition earlier in the season at the Arundel Mills Invitational. Colberg was a second team NEC all-star as a junior.
Joining Colberg on the All-Conference first team for Sacred Heart is fifth-year senior Kimmee Roleder (Pasadena, CA/Pasadena). The outside hitter has totaled 444 kills on the season, an average 3.86 per game that places her third on the circuit. Her 3.24 digs per game ranks her second on the Pioneers. Roleder made an immediate impact this fall, earning All-Tournament honors at the Big Orange Tournament to begin the season. She followed up by collecting All-Tournament accolades at the Arundel Mills Invitational and Sacred Heart Invitational, and was named NEC Player of the Week on September 12.
Representing fourth-seeded Robert Morris on the first team All-Conference roster is senior middle blocker Hannah Veith (Columbus, OH/Worthington), who has been a two-way force for the Colonials this season. The back-to-back first team All-NEC honoree ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.376), and has logged two Molten/NEC Player of the Week nods as well as two Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Her most productive week occurred during the opening weekend of league play (9/26) in which she took home both the NEC Player and Defender of the Week awards along with National Player of the Week honors. The Ohio native also ranks second in the league in blocks (133) and blocks per game (1.14), and has compiled four matches with at least eight blocks on the year.
Rounding out the first team is Fairleigh Dickinson junior Meghan Wheeler (Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep), a two-time All-NEC performer who had a record setting year for the Knights. The outside hitter leads the league with 4.71 kills per game, and did so by notching double-digits kills in 27 of 30 matches. Wheeler finished the season with 14 double-doubles and ranked second on the Knights with 2.80 digs per game. A Molten/NEC Player of the Week honoree for her performance at the Lafayette Tournament in September, Wheeler also earned All-Tournament honors at the Beanpot Classic and Maddie Bingman Memorial.
Adding to Long Island’s list of postseason honorees is middle blocker Jessica Rice (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee). A 6-1 senior and a three-time Molten/NEC Defensive Player of the Week, Rice earns her first All-Conference nod after leading the league in blocks (147) and blocks per game (1.30) en-route to breaking the Blackbirds single-season record in the category. The New Jersey native also displayed her offensive prowess as she leads the team and ranks fourth in the NEC in hitting percentage (.349).
Sacred Heart also adds a pair to the second team in the form of Johanna Ovsenek (London, Ontario/Saunders Secondary) and Elise Sage (Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek). Ovsenek, a junior middle blocker who was also tabbed to the second team in 2010, helped the Pioneers hold opponents to a .157 hitting percentage while individually she leads the team in blocks (77), averaging 0.67 per game. Sage, a two-time Molten/NEC Player of the Week winner, tops the Pioneers with a .339 hitting percentage, which ranks her fifth in the league. The junior middle blocker came on strong at the end of the regular season as she hit north of .350 in the last 12 matches.
Capping off Robert Morris’ list of All-Conference honorees is junior Lindsey Monger (Rising Sun, MD/Rising Sun). The outside hitter excelled offensively for the Colonials over the course of the regular season, sporting a 3.53 kills per game average, which places her first on the team and fifth in the NEC. Monger also notched mid-season national recognition, earning a National Player of the Week honor after she recorded 44 kills and 31 digs in a pair of wins over Saint Francis (PA) and Fairleigh Dickinson.
Fairleigh Dickinson grabs a second spot on the All-Conference roster as libero Kelsey Semler (Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) claims a spot on the second team. The senior played in every match for the Knights this fall en-route to breaking the Burgundy & Blue’s career digs record. She ranks first in the league with 4.68 digs per game and earned All-Tournament honors at the Beanpot Classic.
The final two second team spots were awarded to Central Connecticut State as Sara DeLacey (Spring Lake Park, MN/Spring Lake Park) and Emily Cochran (Adel, IA/Adel-DeSoto-Minburn). DeLacey, a senior right side hitter and back-to-back second-team honoree, ranks third in the league in hitting percentage (.353) and has posted 236 kills this fall. DeLacey, a Molten/NEC Player of the Week honoree, back on October 10, enters the postseason having racked up a team best 107 blocks. Cochran, the 2009 NEC Rookie of the Year, collects second team honors this fall after leading the Blue Devils with 428 kills and her 3.78 kills per game is the fourth-best mark on the circuit. The 5-10 junior also collected Molten/NEC Player of the Week accolades on October 31 after posting 66 kills in three victories, highlighted by a season-high 27-kill and 20-dig effort versus Quinnipiac.
2011 Northeast Conference Post Season Awards
Player of the Year
Hanna Gibeau LIU OH So. Arvada, CO/Ralston Valley
Libero of the Year
Jessica Colberg SHU L Sr. Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Polytechnic
Setter of the Year
Vera Djuric* LIU S Fr. Lazarevac, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic
Rookie of the Year
Annika Foit LIU OPP Fr. Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium
Coach of the Year
Kyle Robinson LIU
*Unanimous Selection
2011 All Northeast Conference Women’s Volleyball First Team
Hanna Gibeau LIU OH So. Arvarda, CO/Ralston Valley
Vera Djuric LIU S Fr. Lazarevac, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic
Annika Foit LIU OPP Fr. Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium
Kimmie Roleder SHU OH Gr. Pasadena, CA/Pasadena
Jessica Colberg SHU L Sr. Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Polytechnic
Hannah Veith RMU MB Sr. Columbus, OH/Worthington
Meghan Wheeler FDU OH Jr. Chatsworth, CA/Chaminade College Prep
2011 All Northeast Conference Women’s Volleyball Second Team
Jessica Rice LIU MB Sr. Marlton, NJ/Cherokee
Johanna Ovsenek SHU MB Jr. London, Ontario/Saunders Secondary
Elise Sage SHU MB Jr. Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek
Sara DeLacey CCSU RS Sr. Spring Lake Park, MN/Spring Lake Park
Emily Cochran CCSU OH/DH Jr. Adel, IA/Adel-DeSoto-Minburn
Lindsey Monger RMU OH Jr. Rising Sun, MD/Rising Sun
Kelsey Semler FDU L Sr. Allentown, PA/Allentown Central Catholic