West Babylon, N.Y. – The East Coast Conference announced the league's Volleyball All-Conference Teams at the ECC Volleyball Championship awards luncheon on Friday afternoon. Headlining the selections as the conference's Player of the Year was Rachel Londot (Utica, Ohio) of LIU Post. Other award honorees include Allison Fowler (Centennial, Colo.) of NYIT, who won Setter of the Year for the third straight season, and Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.), who was named the Libero of the Year. Wrapping up the conference's major awards was Molloy's Kacey Affrunti (Levittown, N.Y.), who won Rookie of the Year..
Londot had a huge season in helping the Pioneers to a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship. The four-time ECC Player of the Week comes into ECC Championship ranked third in the conference with 390 kills and a .293 hitting percentage. She also showcased her all-around talent by ranking in the top-10 in the ECC with 55 service aces (2nd), 0.47 service aces per set (3rd), and 355 digs (8th). In addition, her service ace totals are among the top in all of Division II with her 55 aces ranking No. 14 and her aces per set mark coming in at No. 31. She also contributed 34 total blocks on the season.
O'Neill was the anchor of Molloy's defense on the way to earning Libero of the Year honor. The senior currently leads the ECC with 575 digs and 5.64 digs per set on the season. If the season ended today, her dig per set total, which is over one dig higher than the league's runner-up, would be the highest in the ECC since the 2007 season.
For the third straight year, Fowler earns the league's Setter of the Year award. Fowler leads the ECC with 1,229 assists on the season and is second with 10.97 assists per set. Her assists total ranks 15th in the nation, while her assist per set mark is 31st. Fowler is among the ECC leaders in digs and blocks, coming in the league's top-10 in both categories, as well. She has compiled 325 digs (10th), 50 blocks (6th), and 56 total blocks (9th) on the season.
Affrunti had an outstanding debut season for the Lions, ranking among the conference leaders in kills and blocks. The seven-time ECC Rookie of the Week is sixth in the league with 306 kills and 3.06 kills per set, while also ranking fifth with a .283 hitting percentage. Her block numbers are just as impressive. She currently ranks fifth with 12 solo blocks, eighth with 49 block assists, and seventh with 61 total blocks.
In his first year leading the Molloy program, Kevin DesLauriers has been selected as Coach of the Year by his peers. DesLauriers helmed one of the most remarkable single-year turnarounds in ECC history. After finishing last season with a 6-24 record, Molloy finished the 2017 season with a 23-5 record, a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship, and the top seed in the upcoming ECC Championship. DesLauriers, who also received this honor in 2014 while at former ECC member Dowling, also led the Lions to their first-ever 20 win season and first winning season since 1998.
Joining Londot, Fowler, and Affrunti on the All-Conference First Team are Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) of Molloy, Karolina Moderova (Zalesie, Slovakia), and Tiffany Verni (Patchogue, N.Y.) of NYIT, and Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) of LIU Post.
O'Neill is joined on the All-Conference Second Team by teammate Sophia Smith (Georgetown, Texas), Kassie Akouri-Tejedor (North Miami Beach, Fla.) and Indira Rojas (Coamo, Puerto Rico) of LIU Post, Meghan Ballou (Eden, N.Y.) and Courtney Scanlan (Elicottville, N.Y.) of Daemen, and Sheri Middleton (Humboldt, Kan.) of Bridgeport.
Lea Brady (Woodbridge, Va.) of LIU Post and Cassidy Stewart (Keller, Texas) of Queens wrap up the All-Conference honorees as Honorable Mention selections.
2017 ECC Volleyball All-Conference
First Team
Kacey Affrunit, Fr., M, Molloy
Carly Banks, So., OH/RS, Molloy
Allison Fowler, Sr., S/RS, NYIT
Rachel Londot, Jr., OH, LIU Post
Karolina Moderova, Sr., OH, NYIT
Danielle Valenza, Sr., OH, LIU Post
Tiffany Verni, Jr., OH, NYIT
Second Team
Kassie Akouri-Tejedor, So., S, LIU Post
Meghan Ballou, So., OH, Daemen
Sheri Middleton, Sr., MB, Bridgeport
Dakota O'Neill, Sr., L, Molloy
Indira Rojas, Sr., L, LIU Post
Courtney Scanlan, Jr., OH, Daemen
Sophia Smith, So., S, Molloy
Honorable Mention
Lea Brady, So., MH, LIU Post
Cassidy Stewart, So., MH, Queens
Player of the Year: Rachel Londot, LIU Post
Libero of the Year: Dakota O'Neill, Molloy
Setter of the Year: Allison Fowler, NYIT
Rookie of the Year: Kacey Affrunti, Molloy
Coach of the Year: Kevin DesLauriers, Molloy
