BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY - The St. Francis Brooklyn men's volleyball team make its impact on the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association during its first and only season as an EIVA member, as seen in the EIVA's end-of-season awards released on Tuesday.
The Terriers' record-setting libero, Nicola Iannelli, was recognized on the all-conference second team after leading the conference in total digs (217) and digs per set (2.68). He finished fourth nationwide among NCAA Division I student-athletes in digs per set.
Iannelli also set a new NCAA Division I record for most digs in a single game when he recorded 31 digs against George Mason on Mar. 26.
The Fano, Italy native was named EIVA Defensive Player of the Week twice during the regular season.
"I am incredibly proud of Nicola and his recognition as one of the top players in the EIVA. It has been a pleasure to see him grow as a person and as a player this year," said head coach Niko Lambert. "He has been a very welcome addition to SFBK and I am very excited about his future."
The conference also announced its major awards along with its all-conference teams. Penn State's Brett Wildman was named Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year and the Nittany Lions' leader Mark Pavlik was named Bob Sweeney Memorial Coach of the Year for the ninth time. Brett Thompson, Princeton outside hitter, was named Freshman of the Year.
EIVA officials also announced their All-Academic Team on Tuesday, honoring the student-athletes that maintain a GPA of at least 3.3 after their freshman year. Twelve Terriers made the team.
Lucas Blanco 3.460 Economics
Matt Mongin 3.959 Business Management
Mark Nomerotski 3.887 Exercise Science
Aramis Rodriguez Ayala 3.662 Economics
Bartek Zielinski 3.903 Communications
James Henneberry 3.663 Business Management
Timothy Walsh 3.469 Health Promotion and Sciences
Dominick Pikura 3.532 Information Technology
Daniel Lee 3.485 Psychology
Juan Marin Luna 3.718 Communications
Nicola Iannelli 3.934 Economics
Derrick Truong 4.0 Management
Said Lambert of his student-athletes that were honored for their academic success, "This group of young men work extremely hard on the court, but understand that their academics are more important. I am so proud of their diligence to have twelve players on the EIVA All-Academic team. I am truly honored to have such a fine group of student-athletes."
