Monks' Wachowiak Named GNAC Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GNAC announces 2015 Women's
Volleyball All-Conference Teams

WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine senior middle blocker Felicia Wachowiak has been selected as the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Year, as voted upon by the league's 12 head coaches.

The Milton, N.H. native helped lead the Monks to a third-place finish in the GNAC regular-season standings and GNAC Tournament semifinals, as she led the conference in kills per set (3.62) and blocks per set (1.11), while ranking third among league leaders with a .337 hitting percentage.

Monks teammate and freshman libero Jennelle Thompson was voted the GNAC Defensive Player of the Year, as the rookie averaged 5.65 digs per set to lead the conference. The mark was 1.38 digs per set more than the second-highest individual average in the GNAC.

Johnson & Wales University freshman middle hitter Emily Kalmink was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year, as the first-year helped lead the Wildcats to the GNAC Championship over regular-season champion Rivier University and an NCAA Tournament berth. Entering NCAA play, Kalmink ranks among the top-five in the conference in kills per set (3.03), hitting percentage (.334) and blocks per set (0.93). Her team will take on Amherst at MIT in the first round of the tournament.

Rivier 17th-year head coach Craig Kolek was voted the 2015 GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers, an honor he has now received four times in his illustrious career. His Raiders went 11-0 in league play to claim yet another GNAC regular-season title and placed a league-leading five on the three All-Conference Teams, including two on the First Team.

Joining Wachowiak, Thompson and Kalmink on the First Team were Johnson & Wales senior setter Kellen Tensen, Rivier junior middle hitter Lauren Silverman, Rivier senior setter Emily O'Reilly and Simmons junior outside hitter Cailin Frederickson.

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

Entering NCAA Tournament action, Tensen ranks second in the GNAC with 9.07 assists per set, behind only O'Reilly's mark of 10.08 assists per set. Meanwhile Silverman had a standout season for the Raiders, posting per-set marks of 3.28 kills and 1.09 blocks, while leading the GNAC with a stellar .399 hitting percentage. Frederickson averaged 3.05 kills per set for the Sharks.

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
Emily Kalmink, Johnson & Wales (Fr., MH, Byron Center, Mich.)
Kellen Tensen, Johnson & Wales (Sr., S, New Canaan, Conn.)
Lauren Silverman, Rivier (Jr., MH, Chelmsford, Mass.)
Emily O'Reilly, Rivier (Sr., S, San Francisco, Calif.)
Jennelle Thompson, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Fr., L, Farmington, N.H.)
Felicia Wachowiak, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., MB, Milton, N.H.)
Cailin Frederickson, Simmons (Jr., OH, Columbia, Md.)

Second Team
Brittany Tutalo, Emmanuel (Sr., MH, Johnston, R.I.)
Natasia Kapustin, Johnson & Wales (Fr., OH, West Nyack, N.Y.)
Mary Kate Reidy, Mount Ida (So., OH, Agawam, Mass.)
Molly McCormack, Rivier (Jr., OH, Ballston Lake, N.Y.)
Dana Mott, Rivier (Jr., MH, Medway, Mass.)
Tiffany Mapusaga, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Sr., OH, Waianae, Hawaii)
Kat Guillotte, Simmons (Jr., L, New Bedford, Mass.)

Third Team
Amari King, Anna Maria (Fr., OH, Lawrence, Mass.)
Kaitlyn Atkinson, Emmanuel (Jr., MH, Brookline, N.H.)
Shannon Dudley, Emmanuel Sr., S/RS, Morro Bay, Calif.)
Jackie Pisecco, Rivier (Sr., OH, Chelmsford, Mass.)
Bethany Trevino, Rivier (So., L, Westminster, Colo.)
Mariah Hebert, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., S, Biddeford, Maine)
Victoria Huntley, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Jr., OH, Ellsworth, Maine)

Offensive Player of the Year – Felicia Wachowiak, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Defensive Player of the Year – Jennelle Thompson, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Rookie of the Year – Emily Kalmink, Johnson & Wales
Coach of the Year – Craig Kolek, Rivier
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – St. Joseph (Conn.)

All-Sportsmanship Team
Gina Cintron, Albertus Magnus (Fr., New Haven, Conn.)
Brianna LaRegina, Anna Maria (Sr., Troy, N.Y.)
Danielle Rose, Emmanuel (Sr., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
Alexis Sinclair, Johnson & Wales (So., Hebron, N.H.)
Olivia Addington, Lasell (Fr., Orange, Calif.)
Taylor Davis, Mount Ida (Sr., Machiasport, Maine)
Andrea Moreno, Norwich (Sr., Newark, Del.)
Chelsey Hussey, Rivier (Jr., Lebanon, Conn.)
Rachel Betts, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., Meriden, Conn.)
Alli Hollander, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Thermal, Calif.)
Alex Itasaka, Simmons (Jr., Bradford, Mass.)
Caitlyn Mockler, Suffolk (Sr., Manchester, Conn.)

– #TheGNAC –