Newtown, Pa. – First-year outside hitter
Alyssa O'Neal was named Rookie of the Year while senior middle
Vivian Lisboa was named All-MAC Freedom First Team, the two joining four others on the All-MAC Freedom teams during the conference's year-end awards announcement on Monday.
O'Neal was one of three Ducks outside hitters named Second Team All-Conference, joined by sophomores
Ella Boland and
Sarah Bolduc. First-year libero
Lianna Schmieder and junior setter
Molly Harris rounded out the team's All-Conference selections with both being named Honorable Mention.
O'Neal finished the regular season 7th in the conference in kills (227) and 5th in points per set (3.49), including 11 10+ kill efforts -- three in MAC Freedom play --, including a stretch of eight games in a row leading up to the MAC Freedom Tournament. O'Neal showed her defensive prowess as well, ranking third in the team with 194 digs, adding 18 blocks.
Lisboa finished the regular season among the conference leaders in hitting percentage (3rd, 0.318) and aces (2
nd, 55). Her seven MAC Freedom performances stood out even more, ranking 2
nd in hitting percentage (0.405), 2
nd in blocks per set (1.14), and 2
nd in service aces per set (0.81). She notched at least 58 total blocks for the fourth time, surpassing 300 for her career, just the seventh player to do so in program history.
Boland and Bolduc were two additional formidable outside pieces along with O'Neal. Boland had 12 games with 10 or more kills, including three in MAC Freedom play, during which time she finished 6
th in hitting percentage (0.302). Bolduc had 10 double-digit kill efforts, including a stretch of five straight where she averaged more than 15 per game. The two combined for more than five kills per set during the season.
Even with the Ducks playing more than three sets in just 10 of 29 regular season matches, Schmieder still finished 8
th in the conference in digs per set (3.74), recording 15 or more 11 times and 20 or more four times. The first-year also began her Stevens career averaging 4.03 digs per set over the team's first eight matches of the season.
Despite splitting setting duties much of the season, Harris still put up more than 550 assists for the third time, surpassing 2,000 for her career in the process, just the seventh in program history to do so. Harris finished conference play fifth in assists per set, helping set the tone for a Stevens' offense that was 1
st in hitting percentage (.278) and kills per set (13.41).
The Ducks, the two-seed in the conference tournament, knocked off the top-seed Misericordia in a five-set classic last Saturday, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament, where they will face an opponent TBD following the selection show Monday afternoon, Live video and live stat links will be posted to StevensDucks.com as they're made available.
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