USJ's Tiffany Mapusaga Named GNAC Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year

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Rivier places four on
All-Conference First Team

WINTHROP, Mass. – University of Saint Joseph junior outside hitter Tiffany Mapusaga has been named the 2014 GNAC Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year, as announced by the league office on Wednesday morning.

The Waianae, Hawaii and All-GNAC First Team selection led the conference with 4.14 kills per set this season and helped guide the Blue Jays to an 8-3 mark in league play. She also ranked eighth among GNAC leaders with a .214 hitting percentage and was 12th in digs per set (3.48).

For the complete list of All-Conference selections, please see below.

Rivier University, which claimed the 2014 GNAC Championship last weekend with a 3-1 victory over Johnson & Wales University, placed four student-athletes on the First Team, as Raiders sophomore outside hitter Molly McCormack, sophomore middle hitter Dana Mott, junior setter Emily O’Reilly and freshman libero Bethany Trevino all collected First Team accolades, while Trevino was also named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Mott (2.88) and McCormack (2.67) are both among the top-five in the GNAC in kills per set, while O’Reilly is tops in the conference in assists per set (9.44) and Trevino is second in digs per set (4.38) among league leaders.

Simmons College freshman Emmee Ashby collected GNAC Rookie of the Year and First Team honors, as the first-year Shark ranked second among league leaders in kills per set (2.89) and fourth in hitting percentage (.277).

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine junior middle blocker Felicia Wachowiak took the final spot on the All-Conference First Team, as she led the GNAC with 1.20 blocks per set while averaging 2.74 kills per set, a mark that was fourth-best in the league.

Emmanuel College eighth-year head coach Denitra Seals was voted as the 2014 GNAC Coach of the Year by her peers, as Seals guided the Saints to the GNAC regular-season title with a 10-1 league mark. She also saw four of her own student-athletes named to the Second Team.

Saint Joseph (Conn.) was honored with the 2014 GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award for the sport of women’s volleyball, as voted upon by the conference’s 12 coaches.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.

First Team
Tiffany Mapusaga, Saint Joseph (CT) (Jr., OH/MH, Waianae, Hawaii)
Felicia Wachowiak, Saint Joseph’s (ME) (Jr., MB, Milton, N.H.)
Emmee Ashby, Simmons (Fr., OH, Payson, Ariz.)
Molly McCormack, Rivier (So., OH, Ballston Lake, N.Y.)
Dana Mott, Rivier (So., MH, Medway, Mass.)
Emily O’Reilly, Rivier (Jr., S, San Francisco, Calif.)
Bethany Trevino, Rivier (Fr., L, Westminster, Colo.)

Second Team
Kaitlyn Atkinson, Emmanuel (So., MH, Brookline, N.H.)
Cara Callahan, Emmanuel (Sr., L, Medway, Mass.)
Cassie Chruscielski, Emmanuel (So., OH, Duluth, Minn.)
Shannon Dudley, Emmanuel (Jr., S, Morro Bay, Calif.)
Alyssa Drapeau, Johnson & Wales (Sr., OH, Biddeford, Maine)
Kellen Tensen, Johnson & Wales (Jr., S, New Canaan, Conn.)
Lauren Silverman, Rivier (So., MH, Chelmsford, Mass.)

Third Team
Marissa Bunnewith, Johnson & Wales (Jr., MH, Millbury, Mass.)
Paula Cadavid, Johnson & Wales (Jr., OH, Pawtucket, R.I.)
Lauren Cordts, Johnson & Wales (Sr., MB, Amherst, N.H.)
Kaitlin Kuntz, Johnson & Wales (Sr., L, Boone, Iowa)
Kelsey Mancini, Norwich (Sr., OH/MH, Lynnfield, Mass.)
Ciara Perez, Saint Joseph (CT) (Sr., OH, Manchester, Conn.)
Andalyn Duke, Simmons (So., S, Litchfield Park, Ariz.)

Offensive Player of the Year – Tiffany Mapusaga, Saint Joseph (CT)
Defensive Player of the Year – Bethany Trevino, Rivier
Rookie of the Year – Emmee Ashby, Simmons
Coach of the Year – Denitra Seals, Emmanuel

Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Saint Joseph (CT)

All-Sportsmanship Team
Ramona Onofrio, Albertus Magnus (Jr., East Haven, Conn.)
Emily Adriaansen, Anna Maria (Jr., Pepperell, Mass.)
Cara Callahan, Emmanuel (Sr., Medway, Mass.)
Alyssa Drapeau, Johnson & Wales (Sr., Biddleford, Maine)
Jessica Baird, Lasell (Sr., Plymouth, Mass.)
Taylor Davis, Mount Ida (Jr., Machiasport, Maine)
Angie Hershberger, Norwich (Felton, Calif.)
Chelsey Hussey, Rivier (So., Lebanon, Conn.)
Elizabeth Tuazon, Saint Joseph Conn. (Sr., Mystic, Conn.)
Alli Hollander, Saint Joseph’s Maine (Jr., Thermal, Calif.)
Andalyn Duke, Simmons (So., Litchfield Park, Ariz.)
Glamarys Sierra, Suffolk (Sr., Carolina, Puerto Rico)

All-Tournament Team
Cara Callahan, Emmanuel
Marissa Bunnewith, Johnson & Wales
Alyssa Drapeau, Johnson & Wales
Molly McCormack, Rivier
Dana Mott, Rivier
Emily O'Reilly, Rivier
Alex Itasaka, Simmons 

Tournament MVP - Emily O'Reilly, Rivier

– #theGNAC –