Four Major Award Winners Highlight Women's Volleyball CNE Postseason Awards

CNE RELEASE

BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott women's volleyball team has claimed 13 total awards between seven different members in this season's Conference of New England (CNE) Postseason Awards, as announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon.

The Gulls earned four of the five major awards in the conference. In total, two Gulls were named to the First Team, two were named to the Second Team, two were named to the Third Team, and one to the Community Service Team.

Sophomore outside hitter Hadley Helenbrook (Atlanta, Ga.) was named Player of the Year, while senior Emma Ruel (Duxbury, Mass.) earned Libero of the Year honors for the second consecutive year. Along with the other major award winners, freshman setter Hannah Maguire (San Jose, Calif.) was named CNE Rookie of the Year.

Head Coach Tim Byram rounded out the list of major individual award winners with his sixth career conference Coach of the Year award (2004, 2008, 2016, 2019, and 2021). 

Additionally, Megan Murphy (Danvers, Mass.) was named as the Gulls' representative on the CNE's Community Service Team, which highlights one student-athlete per institution who demonstrates a commitment to their community.

The remaining award winners for the Gulls included:

ALL-CNE FIRST TEAM

OH - Hadley Helenbrook (Atlanta, Ga.)
Libero - Emma Ruel (Duxbury, Mass.)

ALL-CNE SECOND TEAM

OH - Ava Grace Dresback (Pawcatuck, Conn.)
S - Hannah Maguire (San Jose, Calif.)

ALL-CNE THIRD TEAM

MB - Stephanie Moreau (Methuen, Mass.)
MB - Megan Murphy (Danvers, Mass.)

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

HADLEY HELENBROOK | SO. | OH | Atlanta, Ga.
Player of the Year | All-CNE First Team

Helenbrook becomes the sixth player in program history to receive conference Player of the Year honors and the eighth time the Gulls have earned Player of the Year. Helenbrook is the first player to win the award since Amanda Gilbert '22 M'23 (Hopkinton, Mass.) took home the award in 2022 and was the first sophomore in program history to earn Player of the Year honors.  

The sophomore outside hitter has been a consistent factor for Gulls throughout the 2024 season. She ranks tops for the Gulls in kills (447), kills per set (4.97), and points per set (5.6) this season. Across Division III, Helenbrook currently ranks first nationally in Kills Per Set with 4.96 and second in Points Per Set.

This season, the sophomore has tallied 10 matches with 20 or more kills. Earlier in the year, the Atlanta, Ga. native set the program record for kills in a match with 36 versus Wentworth on 10/1 and was named AVCA/GameChanger Division III Player of the Week for her performance. Helenbrook currently ranks second for kills in a single season and was an important part of the Gulls securing an undefeated conference record and the No. 1 seed in the CNE tournament.

This is Helenbrook's first career All-Conference First-team honor and second career All-Conference honor.

EMMA RUEL | SR. | DS | Duxbury, Mass.
Libero of the Year | All-CNE First Team

Ruel is the fourth player in program history to be named Conference Libero of the Year. This is the second consecutive year the Gulls have won the award after Rurl was honored last season. The senior joins Mackenzie Kennedy '20 (Andover, Mass.) as the only student-athlete in program history to receive the honor twice in their careers.

Ruel ranks first on the Gulls squad for digs (316; 3.29 per set) which places her 10th in the CNE. She eclipsed the 1,000 career digs mark on September 6, 2024, in Endicott's four-set victory over Maine Maritime. The senior currently ranks seventh all-time in program history for career digs per set (3.42).

The Duxbury, Mass. native has 17 matches this season with 10 or more digs, including 25 against Western New England which is one off from her career high. This season Ruel has also set career highs in both assists (91) and service aces (40) along with recording just 19 receive errors all season and just four coming in conference play. 

This marks Ruel's third career All-Conference team and second All-Conference First Team honors.

HANNAH MAGUIRE | FR. | S | San Jose, Calif.
Rookie of the Year | All-CNE Second Team

Maguire is the seventh player in program history to be named Conference Rookie of the Year.  This is the first season Endicott has won the award since 2021 and just the second setter in program history to earn the honor.

The freshman setter has been the facilitator all season for the Gulls with 899 assists (9.77 assists per set) and ranks second on the team in digs with 251 (2.73 per set). Maguire ranks first in the conference in both total assists and assists per set. The freshman ranks 28th nationally in assists per set and 44th in total assists.

The San Jose, Calif. native started off her collegiate career by recording the fifth-highest assists in a match with 54 against WPI on Aug. 30 and then tied that mark in the Gulls' 3-2 victory over No. 11 Trinity (Tex.). In total, Maguire has recorded double-digit assists in all but two matches this season. She also has 13 matches in which she has a double-double (assists-digs). 

This is Maguire's first All-Conference First-team in her career.

TIM BYRAM | Head Coach | 25th Season
Co-Coach of the Year

Head Coach Tim Byram guided Endicott to the best record in the conference, going 20-7 overall and 9-0 in the CNE. 

Under the leadership of Byram, the Gulls posted their seventh undefeated conference record of all-time and best since 2021, when they also posted a 9-0 record in league play.

As a team, the Gulls rank first in the conference in Assists Per Set (11.66) and Kills Per Set (12.56). Nationally in those categories, Endicott ranks inside the top 75 in both. 

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (20-7) will enter the CNE tournament as the No. 1 seed and will take on Western New England in the CNE Semifinal on Thursday night at 7 PM. The winner will advance to the CNE Championship match on Saturday, November 16 with opponent and time to be determined.

(Photo Credit -  Mazzie Hinsdale '26)