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Rivier Men's Volleyball Names 6 To All-Conference Team
Nashua, NH - The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) announced the 2011 Men's Volleyball All-Conference teams on Saturday, March 26th and Rivier landed six of its players onto various all-conference teams. The 2011 GNAC champions posted a 31-8 overall record while going 11-1 in conference play thus far in 2011.
Senior captain Jared Andreozzi (Barrington, RI) headlined this year's all-conference class as the only Raiders selected to the first team. Jared led the Raiders offense all season leading the team in kills (515), hitting percentage (.310), kills per set (4.22), points per set (5.09) and service aces (56). This is the second straight season that Jared has been named a GNAC First Team selection and his second straight GNAC Tournament MVP award after leading the Raiders to their fourth straight GNAC Championship. Jared set a new Rivier career record for kills this season, eclipsing the previous mark of 1479 set by Andy Chace in 2006, with a total of 1758 up to this point in the season. Jared still has the regional NECVA Tournament to add to his career totals, in which the second seeded Raiders will face #15 Bard College in the first round.
Middle hitter Taylor Lindner (Cheshire, CT) was named to the GNAC Second Team All-Conference. This is the second straight season the 6'4 sophomore has been a second team member after winning rookie of the year honors a season ago. Taylor finished the regular season with 169 total kills and 67 blocks as he continued to be a force in the middle when the raiders needed him.
Four other Raiders were selected to the GNAC Third Team All-Conference which helps to show the support and character that a team needs to succeed at such a high level. Junior middle/outside hitter Alex Xenidis (Shelton, CT), sophomore setter Steve Visentin (Cheshire, CT) and two freshman, middle hitter Aaron Almario (Alhambra, CA) and outside hitter Sam Kazlas (Allentown, PA) were the remaining all-conference selections. Xenidis was used as a swing played for most of the season, spending time anchoring all three front row positions as well as coming into the back row to pass and play defense at times. The 6'2 junior was second on the team with 92 blocks and finished with 164 kills in the regular season. Visentin made the move from outside hitter his freshman season to the setters role this year. His athletic ability and court sense made the transition very easy as Steve dished out a team high 1013 assists and added 56 blocks and 107 digs on the year, all while running the offense to a 31-8 record on the season thus far.
Almario was the surprise of the group this season. Although he stands at 6'8 and is very athletics, the experience Aaron possessed prior to arriving at Rivier was limited, but this quick learner quickly made a name for himself and quickly found his way into the starting line-up for the Raiders. Almario's size and quickness made it impossible to keep him out of the line-up when the team needed a block and Aaron made his presence known on multiple occasions recording a team high, an nationally leading, 136 total blocks on the season. Aaron's offense also came a long way and he has quickly became a feared hitter as well with 170 kills and counting. Almario was also named to the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team by his peers, the award is presented to one member of each GNAC team for their role in promoting good sportsmanship qualities on the court. Sam Kazlas, on the other hand, had high hopes coming into the season, but had to be brought along slowly in order for him to help the team. Kazlas was in and out of the line-up a lot early in the season, but as of late has become a tremendous asset. Sam finished second on the team in kills with 231 and added 52 blocks. In his limited serving role he has amassed 8 aces and picked up 43 digs on defense. Sam is expecting to be the heir apparent to Andreozzi and he started his career off right by dropping 9 kills against Lasell College in the GNAC Championship game.
The Raiders will move onto the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) 16 team tournament starting this Friday, April 1st. #2 Rivier will take on #15 Bard College in the first round at 2:00 PM. The winner will move on to face the winner of #7 Medaille College vs. #10 Vassar College on Saturday at 11:00 AM. The winner of the NECVA Tournament will receive an automatic bid to attend the Division III Molten Final Four hosted by Nazareth College.
2011 GNAC Men's Volleyball All-Conference Teams
1st Team
Curtis Abram - Emmanuel
Jared Andreozzi - Rivier
Tyson Rietz - Emmanuel
Spencer Hastings - Mount Ida
Andrew Glenn - Lasell
Nick Updike - Emmanuel
2nd Team
Thomas McCaffrey - Emmanuel
Thomas Belton - Mount Ida
Taylor Lindner - Rivier
Cam Todd - Emmanuel
Steven Velez - Johnson & Wales
Mike Harrington - Lasell
3rd Team
Alex Xenidis - Rivier
Steve Selnick - Emerson
Steve Visentin - Rivier
Aaron Almario - Rivier
Jake DeLuise - Emmanuel
Sam Kazlas - Rivier
PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Curtis Abram, Emmanuel
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Jake DeLuise, Emmanuel
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Andrew Glenn, Lasell
COACH OF THE YEAR - Scott Reslow, Johnson & Wales
ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
TBD - Albertus Magnus
Chris Davis - Emerson
Keoni Rabaino - Emmanuel
Dan Struebing - Johnson & Wales
Alex Mill - Lasell
Ryan Faer - Mount Ida
Aaron Almario - Rivier
