SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The office of the commissioner announced the 2015 All-Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's volleyball team on Monday evening and five Gulls have earned yearly honors which were highlighted by two major awards of Player of the Year and Senior Scholar-Athlete.
CCC Player of the Year honors went to Tori McIntyre (San Diego, Calif.) while Senior Scholar-Athlete was claimed by Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.). Endicott's lone All-CCC First Team member was McIntyre while VandeMerkt, Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) were named to the Second Team, and Hayley Knapp (Valencia, Calif.) to the Third Team.
For McIntyre, the Player of the Year and First Team honors come one year after earning All-CCC First Team honors in 2014 and All-CCC Honorable Mention honors in 2013. The junior is in the midst of the best season of her career yet, posting 2.69 kills per set, 2.73 digs per set, 3.2 points per set and a .215 hitting percentage, all career-highs. As a primary passing outside, McIntyre has collected nine double-double performances this season, as she led all CCC players in total points, and currently stands fifth in kills per set (2.69), ninth in attack percentage (.215) and 11th in digs per set (2.89) in CCC play. McIntyre tallied double-digit kills in 14 of her 30 matches and was named CCC Player of the Week three times during the regular season.
VandeMerkt, currently a graduate student working towards her M.B.A. after graduating a full year early as the first female in Endicott history to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Finance, was named CCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-CCC Second Team after guiding the Gulls to a 21-9 record overall and 6-2 record in CCC play. As an undergraduate, she earned a 3.78 GPA, served as a peer tutor, was a member of the Endicott Honors Scholar Program and was inducted in the Sigma Beta Delta Business Honors Society. On the court, she is second all-time in Endicott history for assists with 3,960 and currently ranks second in the CCC with 612 assists this season. VandeMerkt was a four year member of the Model U.N. and served as the head delegate for the past two years. The Second Team nod means the setter has now earned All-CCC honors every year of her career, including three-consecutive Second Team nods to end her career and an Honorable Mention nod as a freshman.
Joining VandeMerkt on the Second Team were a pair of sophomores in Cydney Pierce and Lauren Sheehan. Pierce, the team's libero for the 2015 season, earned All-CCC honors after being named CCC Libero of the Week three times in 2015 and Corvias ECAC DIII New England Libero of the Week honors twice. Pierce shattered her freshman year stats in 2015, posting 528 digs through regular season play, already good for the 10th best single-season performance in Endicott history. The sophomore averaged 4.71 digs per set overall as she played in all 112 of the team's sets played to date and averaged an astounding 5.29 digs per set in CCC play while also recording 35 total aces on the season. Sheehan, a sophomore outside, also enjoyed a breakout season for the Gulls, recording 296 kills on the season, averaging 2.87 kills per set. Like Pierce, Sheehan was named Corvias ECAC DIII New England Player of the Week twice in 2015 while also being named CCC Player of the Week twice. The outside also picked up 165 digs on the season as she averaged 1.60 per set, and elevated her play against CCC competition, posting 2.88 kills per set and 2.21 digs per set.
Rounding out the All-CCC haul for the Gulls was junior middle Hayley Knapp who earned All-CCC honors for the first time in her career. One year after earning the Honorable Mention distinction as a sophomore, Knapp hit a team-best .289 for the season as she averaged 2.12 kills per set and 0.67 blocks per set. Her 70 total blocks were best on the team while she recorded 289.5 total points on the season, good for third best on the roster. Knapp's .289 average beat her previous career-best of .230 that she set in 2014.
The All-CCC members and the entire roster get the second phase of their season underway on Tuesday evening when they host the University of New England in CCC Quarterfinal play at 7:00 p.m. Endicott earned the No. 3 seed for the tournament via their 6-2 CCC regular season record as No. 6 UNE finished 3-5. The Gulls swept the Nor'Easters in their regular season meeting on October 21.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Tori McIntyre, Endicott
LIBERO OF THE YEAR - Maggie Risma, Gordon
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Molly Quilty, Roger Williams
SENIOR SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - Alleigh VandeMerkt, Endicott
COACH OF THE YEAR - Sue Kelly, Gordon
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Eastern Nazarene College
FIRST TEAM
OH – Elizabeth Flaherty, Roger Williams, Senior
MB – Samantha Higgins, Salve Regina, Sophomore
MH – Olivia Lathrop, Western New England, Senior
OH – Tori McIntyre, Endicott, Junior
OH – Carleigh Peterson, Gordon, Junior
MH – Molly Quilty, Roger Williams, Freshman
L – Maggie Risma, Gordon, Junior
SECOND TEAM
OH – Kristen Boyer, Roger Williams, Junior
OH—Lauren Sheehan, Endicott, Sophomore
MH – Grayson Szczepaniak, University of New England, Junior
MH – Carly Skibinski, Western New England, Sophomore
S – Alleigh VandeMerkt, Endicott, Senior
S – Nicole Weber, Roger Williams, Senior
L – Cydney Pierce, Endicott, Sophomore
THIRD TEAM For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
S – Renee Cooprider, Gordon, Freshman
OH – Mackenzie Hinds, Gordon, Freshman
MB – Hayley Knapp, Endicott, Junior
MH – Courtney Lambrese, University of New England, Sophomore
MB – Emily Lipinski, Salve Regina, Senior
DS – Morgan VanderBaan, Salve Regina, Sophomore
L – Maria Batas, Roger Williams, Sophomore
