Five Named All-Conference; Vazquez Takes Newcomer of the Year Award
Five Penn State Behrend men’s volleyball players were named to the 2014 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference All-Conference team, and freshman outside hitter Antonio Vazquez was selected AMCC Co-Newcomer of the Year.
ERIE, Pa. – Five Penn State Behrend men's volleyball players were named to the 2014 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) All-Conference team, and freshman outside hitter Antonio Vazquez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/UHS) was selected AMCC Co-Newcomer of the Year.
Nathan Steele (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) and Derek Polishen (Plum, PA/Plum) were named to the All-AMCC First-Team while Grant Kocher (McMurray, PA/Peters Township), Ty Sheehan (Cochranton, PA/Cochranton), and Kevin Smith (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) were second-team selections.
Steele, who was a first-team pick last year and a second-team selection in 2012, finished first in the AMCC with a .317 hitting percentage. In addition, the senior led the Lions in kills (227) and total attempts (508). Polishen had a spectacular junior season. A defensive specialist, the libero finished second on the squad with 143 digs.
For Sheehan, it is the junior's second consecutive second-team all-conference selection. He led Behrend on the season with 179 digs, good for seventh in the conference. Kocher, also a second-team pick in 2013, overcame injury to finish second on the squad and seventh in the conference with 2.10 kills per set. Smith tied for the team-lead with 65 block-assists helping the Lions lead the conference in that category. He also finished second in the AMCC with 0.94 blocks per set.
Vazquez had with one of the best freshman seasons in program history. He led the AMCC with 0.46 service-aces per set and was second on Behrend in both points (191.5) and total attempts (337).