WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Rivier & Simmons Collect 2021 GNAC Major Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WINTHROP, Mass. – Rivier University's Avery Pollard and Sofia Pawlusik have been named the 2021 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Player and Libero of the Year, respectively, as announced the by the GNAC office on Tuesday morning. 

Under longtime legendary head coach Craig Kolek, who was named the GNAC Coach of the Year, Pollard and Pawlusik helped lead the Raiders to an unblemished 13-0 record in GNAC play, capturing the top seed in the GNAC Tournament for the first time since 2015.

Pollard was third in the GNAC with 8.99 assists per set and fourth in the league with 0.72 service aces per set, while Pawlusik averaged 4.00 digs and 0.45 aces per set for the Raiders.

From Simmons University, which earned the No. 2 seed in the GNAC Tournament, first-year Claire Conners finished second among GNAC leaders with a .310 hitting percentage to go along with 2.71 kills per set. The Sharks were also awarded with the GNAC's Team Sportsmanship Award. 

With per-set averages of 3.42 kills and 0.53 blocks, Rivier's Lily Blodgett joined Pollard and Pawlusik on the All-GNAC First Team.

The rest of the First Team included Elms' Alanys Cruz Diaz, the GNAC leader in kills per set (4.03) while hitting .291; Johnson & Wales University's Peyton Oliver, who averaged 2.89 kills, 0.73 blocks and 1.18 digs per set; and Norwich University's Kathryn Farnum after averaging 3.83 kills and 2.82 digs per set for the Cadets. 

For the complete list of winners, including the All-Rookie and All-Sportsmanship Teams, please see below. 

JWU, which defeated second-seeded Simmons in the GNAC Semifinals and top-seeded Rivier in the GNAC Final, placed three on the All-GNAC Teams as the Wildcats get set for their sixth straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance under head coach Nancy Somera. Her Wildcats get set to take on Bowdoin this Friday.

FIRST TEAM
Alanys Cruz Diaz, Elms
Peyton Oliver, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Kathryn Farnum, Norwich
Lily Blodgett, Rivier
Sofia Pawlusik, Rivier
Avery Pollard, Rivier
Claire Conners, Simmons

SECOND TEAM
Emily Corbett, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Masina Tupea, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Sabine Milton, Lasell
Kate Montigny, Regis (Mass.)
Sydney Racevicius, Rivier
Sydney Iannantuono, Simmons
Kat Simeonidis, Simmons

THIRD TEAM
Kianna Lozada, Elms
Sarah Farnum, Norwich
Rita Dow, Regis (Mass.)
Valerie Whalen, Regis (Mass.)
Lily Sills, Rivier
Hannah Benson, St. Joseph (Conn.)
Amanda Fortune, Simmons

PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Avery Pollard, Rivier
LIBERO OF THE YEAR – Sofia Pawlusik, Rivier
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Claire Conners, Simmons
COACH OF THE YEAR – Craig Kolek, Rivier
TEAM SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Simmons

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Peyton Oliver, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Masina Tupea, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Mckenna McCool, Lasell
Sabine Milton, Lasell
Sofia Pawlusik, Rivier
Lily Sills, Rivier
Claire Conners, Simmons

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Taina Vargas, Albertus Magnus
Sarah Burt, Anna Maria 
Riley Codman, Colby-Sawyer
Emily Ball, Dean
Sabrina Christie, Elms 
Caitlin Tannian, Emmanuel 
Sibel Truong, JWU
Meghan Roberts, Lasell
Olivia Brown, Norwich
Toni Ondris, Regis 
Aly Werth, Rivier
Kailee Snyder, St. Joseph (Conn.)
Nicole Baron, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
Tabitha Miles, Simmons 

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 3,500 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –