Rivier's Chris Markuson Named GNAC Men's Volleyball Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GNAC announces major awards
and All-Conference selections

WINTHROP, Mass. – Rivier University senior outside hitter Chris Markuson has been named the 2015 GNAC Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year, it was announced by the league office on Monday morning following a vote among the league’s eight head coaches.

Markuson, who also received First Team All-Conference recognition, finished third among GNAC leaders with 3.76 kills per set while hitting .210 for the Raiders, who went 13-1 in conference play to claim the regular-season title before falling to Lasell College in the GNAC Championship.

The Cupertino, Calif. native was also third among GNAC leaders in digs per set (2.20) and averaged 0.54 blocks and 0.24 service aces per set.

Emerson College junior libero Jared Gross was voted the 2015 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 3.29 digs per set, which was 1.00 more per set than the second-best mark in the league this season. Gross also garnered First Team All-Conference recognition.

Wentworth Institute of Technology freshman Sean Mullen received GNAC Rookie of the Year honors, as he was second in the GNAC in service aces per set (0.63). He also averaged 2.52 kills and 1.40 digs per set for the Leopards, who finished third in the conference standings. Mullen received All-GNAC Third Team honors as well.

Lasell head coach Tom Olson was voted the GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers, as Olson led the Lasers to the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Tournament before upsetting seven-time defending GNAC champion Rivier on the road in five sets in Saturday’s conference title match.

Joining Markuson and Gross on the First Team was Emerson junior Jackson Wiley, Emmanuel College senior Ashanti Jackson, Lasell junior Jeffrey Vautrin, and Wentworth sophomores Alex Potts and Jake Reed.

Wiley was first among league leaders in kills per set (4.35) to go along with 1.62 digs per set, while Jackson ranked sixth in the GNAC with 3.19 kills per set.

Vautrin, who owns a .312 hitting percentage, ranks second only to Wiley among GNAC leaders with 3.79 kills per set. He also owns per-set averages of 1.67 digs, 0.45 blocks and 0.39 service aces entering NCAA Tournament play for the Lasers.

Potts ranked first in the league in two major categories with a .392 hitting percentage and a mark of 1.14 blocks per set, while Reed averaged 3.14 kills, 1.28 digs and 0.51 blocks and hit .265.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.

First Team
Jared Gross, Emerson (Jr., L, Wexford, Pa.)
Jackson Wiley, Emerson (Jr., OH, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Ashanti Jackson, Emmanuel (Sr., OH, Sacramento, Calif.)
Jeffrey Vautrin, Lasell (Jr., OH, Chicopee, Mass.)
Chris Markuson, Rivier (Sr., OH, Cupertino, Calif.)
Alex Potts, Wentworth (So., MH, Niverville, N.Y.)
Jake Reed, Wentworth (So., OH, Arvada, Colo.)

Second Team
Brendan McGonigle, Emerson (Jr., S, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Sean Baxley, Emmanuel (Sr., S, Saint James, N.Y.)
Kyle Eva, Johnson & Wales (Jr., MB, Charlestown, R.I.)
Kyle MacKnight, Johnson & Wales (So., L, Northport, N.Y.)
Dan Raffol, Lasell (Sr., OH, Natick, Mass.)
Tyler Blank, Rivier (So., S, Rochester, N.Y.)
Colin Ritter, Wentworth (So., S, Feeding Hills, Mass.)

Third Team
Zach Whitermore, Emmanuel (Sr., OH, Whitehall, Pa.)
Brendan Baker, Johnson & Wales (So., RS, Providence, R.I.)
Don Dias, Johnson & Wales (Sr., MB, Scituate, R.I.)
Grant Andler, Rivier (Fr., RS, Chicago, Ill.)
Matt Tutino, Rivier (Sr., MH, Manorville, N.Y.)
Sean Mullen, Wentworth (Fr., OH, Longwood, Fla.)
Mike Rogachefsky, Wentworth (So., L, Rochester, N.Y.)

Player of the Year – Chris Markuson, Rivier
Defensive Player of the Year – Jared Gross, Emerson
Rookie of the Year – Sean Mullen, Wentworth
Coach of the Year – Tom Olson, Lasell
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Mount Ida College

All-Sportsmanship Team
Justin Tharau, Albertus Magnus (Jr., S, Burlington, Conn.)
Ben Hillman, Emerson (Jr., RS, South Pasadena, Calif.)
Zach Whitermore, Emmanuel (Sr., OH, Whitehall, Pa.)
Ambrose Hogan III, Johnson & Wales (Jr., S, New Bedford, Mass.)
Matt Dugan, Lasell (Sr., S/L, New Lenox, Ill.)
Kalyn Smithson, Mount Ida (Sr., MH, Vilseck, Germany)
Mike Hovnanian, Rivier (Jr., DS/L, Methuen, Mass.)
Rami Akouri, Wentworth (Sr., OH, Fall River, Mass.)

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