2013 NECC Men's Volleyball All-Conference Team
BEVERLY, Mass. – After posting a 12-0 regular season record against conference opponents for the second straight year and capturing the 2013 NECC Championship and the NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier with straight set victories in the semifinal and final rounds, the NECC announced today that the Endicott men's volleyball team landed three student-athletes on their All-Conference Team as it was voted upon by the league's head coaches.
Junior middles Mike Coniglione (Glenville, N.Y.) and Travis Netherton (Waukegan, Ill.) were both recognized on the First Team NECC All-Conference squad as both players ranked in the top five in both hitting percentage and blocks per set. Coniglione led the NECC with a 0.95 blocks per set average, totaling 39 blocks of his 103 overall blocks against conference opponents. Netherton, despite playing just one set in the final four regular season NECC matches due to injury, led the league in hitting percentage (.372) overall and in conference play (.497). Coniglione and Netherton helped the Gulls rank top-20 nationally in both blocking and hitting percentage.
Following this weekend's championship victory in the NECC Tournament, Coniglione has a total of 186 kills, a .306 hitting percentage, 23 service aces, 89 digs, and 103 blocks. Netherton currently has 154 kills, a .372 hitting percentage, 16 service aces, 36 digs, and 46 blocks.
Freshman outside John Osborne (Freehold, N.J.) was also honored by the NECC as the first year player was put on the Honorable Mention squad. Osborne took over the role held by last year's NECC Player of the Year Jeremy Siden and shined by ranking second on the team in kills (217), first in service aces (25), second in digs (153), fifth in blocks (37), while sporting a .960 reception percentage for over a third of Endicott's serve-receive attempts. Osborne's season-high 20 kills came on March 9th against Endicott's NCAA First Round opponent, Kean, the freshman had a .326 hitting percentage on 43 swings in a tightly-contest 3-2 loss at the March Mania Invitational.
The NECC named Daniel Webster sophomore outside Joel Hendrix (Kane'ohe, Hawaii) Player of the Year, Newbury senior defensive specialist Alex Amylon (Scituate, R.I.) Defensive Player of the Year, freshman outside Jeff Vautrin (Chicopee, Mass.) Rookie of the Year, Daniel Webster head coach Braden Zamore Coach of the Year, with Regis taking the Team Sportsmanship Award.
With the stellar play of Coniglione, Netherton, Osborne, and a roster full of talent on both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game, Endicott (22-9) will head into their NCAA First Round match against #14 Kean (25-7) looking for their first NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Gulls and Cougars meet on Saturday, April 20th at 7:00 pm in Endicott's MacDonald Gymnasium.
