Hofstra University freshman middle blocker Elizabeth Curley (Centerville, MA/Barnstable - pictured) was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Year, while sophomore outside hitter Tessa Sphar (San Jose, CA/Archbishop Mitty) earned First Team All-CAA honors and junior outside hitter Alessandra Pollo (Savona, Italy/Venice (FL)) was named to the All-CAA Second Team, it was announced at the CAA Volleyball awards banquet on Thursday evening in Newark, Delaware.
Curley becomes Hofstra first conference Rookie of the Year award winner since Stefanie Rewitz won the award in 1999 when Hofstra was a member of the America East Conference. Curley, who was named the CAA Rookie of the Week twice this season (10/6 and 11/10), leads the Pride with a .319 hitting percentage, and currently is second on the team in blocks (78) and service aces (29). In conference matches, Curley's attack percentage increases to a robust .338 and she leads the team with 25 aces. She tallied her career-high of 13 kills against Towson on October 17 and her nine blocks against Iona on September 18 were a season-high as well. In addition, Curley served seven aces against William & Mary on October 31, which marked a personal and Hofstra season-high.
Sphar, the only underclassman on the first team, earns All-CAA accolades after ranking first on the Pride in kills (415), kills per game (3.88), total attempts (1182), service aces (36) and digs (3.14) through the regular season. She went over the 20-kill plateau four times, including a career-high 26 kills against St. John's on September 3. Sphar, who is tied with Pollo for the team lead in ?œdouble-doubles?ť with 14, has led Hofstra in kills 17 times and digs 10 times so far this season. She has totaled double-digit kills in 13 of Hofstra's 14 conference matches.
Second team All-CAA honors went to Pollo, a two-time recipient of CAA Player of the Week honors (9/29 and 11/3), who ranks second on the team in kills (313) and kills per game (3.60). She is third on the team in digs (286), blocks (58) and service aces (21). Pollo tallied a season-high 21 kills and a career-high 25 digs against George Mason in Hofstra's second to last match of the regular season on November 14. She has led Hofstra in kills 10 times this season and has double digit kills in seven of Hofstra's past nine matches.
The Pride is currently 12-16 and 8-6 in the CAA. They are the #4 seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament, marking the 21st time in the past 22 seasons that Hofstra has advanced to their conference's postseason tournament. The lone season they didn't qualify was 1992, when the Pride were an independent.
#4 Hofstra is next in action when they face number #1 Towson in the semifinals of the CAA Championship tomorrow at 7 p.m. The other semifinal match-up pits #2 George Mason vs. #3 James Madison at 4:30 p.m. The winners of each semifinal match will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m., with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. All matches in the 2003 CAA Championship will take place on Barbara Viera Court at Carpenter Sports Building in Newark, Delaware (University of Delaware, host).
2003 ALL-CAA VOLLEYBALL TEAM
(Selected by CAA Volleyball Coaches)
First TeamPlayer, School (Cl., Pos., Hometown/High School)
Aline Pereira, GMU* (Sr., OH, Sao Paolo, Brazil/Tecnologico de Osasco)
Sarah Miller, Towson (Jr., OH, Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley)
Dana Jones, JMU* (Sr., MB, Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor)
Liz Goubeaux, Towson* (Jr., MB, Lockport, N.Y./Lockport)
Tessa Sphar, Hofstra (So., OH, San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty)
Mary Clare Coghlan, Towson (Jr., S, Northridge, Calif./Notre Dame)
Second TeamPlayer, School (Cl., Pos., Hometown/High School)Jesica Umansky, GMU* (Jr., S, Buenos Aires, Argentina/Segunda Ensenanza)
Alessandra Pollo, Hofstra (Jr., OH, Savona, Italy/Venice (Fla.))
Valerie Murphy, Delaware (Jr., MH, Round Hill, Va./Loudoun Valley)
Krysta Cannon, James Madison (So., S, Cedar Park, Texas/Westwood)
Bea Gerevich, UNC Wilmington (Sr., S, Budapest, Hungary/Dobos C. Josef)
Griselle Lopez-Pereira, VCU (So., Lib., Caguas, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame)
2003 CAA Player of the Year: Aline Pereira, George Mason
2003 CAA Setter of the Year: Mary Clare Coghlan, Towson
2003 CAA Rookie of the Year: Elizabeth Curley, Hofstra
2003 CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year: Griselle Lopez-Pereira, VCU
2003 CAA Coach of the Year: Chris Riley, Towson
* - First Team All-CAA in 2002
