2015 NEWVA Annual Awards
BEVERLY, Mass. - November 17, 2015 - The New England Women’s Volleyball Coaches Association (NEWVA) has released their 2015 NEWVA Annual Awards honoring the region’s Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, the All-New England Teams, All-Rookie team, and the NEWVA Senior Classic award winners.
The 2015 NEWVA Senior Classic, which is sponsored by adidas and The Graphic Edge, will take place on Sunday, December 6th starting at 10:00 a.m. at UMass Boston starting with a skills competition followed by the all-star match. Participating student-athletes can start checking in at 9:00 a.m.
NEWVA Player of the Year
Bowdoin - Christy Jewett (Sunnyvale, Calif./King’s Academy), Sr., OH
Jewett, the 2015 NESCAC Player of the Year and a two-time NEWVA All-New England First Team honoree, fueled Bowdoin’s run towards winning this season’s NESCAC Championship and ultimately the NCAA New England Regional title. Jewett produced 328 kills (3.95 k/s) on a .267 hitting percentage and totaled 257 digs (3.10 d/s) and 25 blocks defensively while serving as the Polar Bears’ primary passer. She became Bowdoin’s all-time kill leader (1,228) after her day one contributions at the UMass Boston Invitational. She was twice named NESCAC Player of the Week.
Jewett led Bowdoin to top seed in the NESCAC Tournament where the Polar Bears swept through Bates and Middlebury in straight sets before grinding out a five-set win over Williams to capture the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Regional Tournament. In the regional bracket, Jewett and her Bowdoin teammates continued their memorable 2015 season, a run that includes an active stretch of 24 wins in their last 25 matches dating back to September 18th. Bowdoin eliminated UMass Boston, Babson, and ultimately MIT in the NCAA New England Regional Championship to become one of the final eight teams remaining in the NCAA postseason.
Jewett has averaged 4.59 kills and 3.14 digs per set through NESCAC and NCAA postseason play and will lead Bowdoin into a NCAA Division III Quarterfinal match up with Cal Lutheran on Friday, November 20th.
NEWVA Rookie of the Year
MIT - Abby Bertics (La Jolla, Calif./The Bishop School), Fr., OH
During MIT’s memorable 2015 run that included a rise to a national ranking as high as #23 and reaching the NCAA New England Regional Finals, Bertics proved to be an integral piece of the puzzle with 168 kills (2.21 k/s), a .321 hitting percentage, 49 digs, and 24 blocks in the 2015 regular season. Bertics appeared in four matches during postseason play and produced 31 kills (2.07 k/s), eight digs, and 12 blocks which included an 11-kill match in the NCAAs to help MIT advance past Amherst in five sets into the New England Regional Finals.
For her efforts this season, Bertics was also named to the AVCA Division III All-New England First Team.
NEWVA Coach of the Year
MIT - Paul Dill, 20th season
MIT head coach Paul Dill and his coaching staff went 28-2 during the 2015 regular season, earned the top seed in the NEWMAC Tournament, and was a mainstay in the AVCA Division III Top-25 rankings since early October as well as atop the NEWVA Regional Polls. The Engineers ended their 2015 campaign with an overall record of 30-4, the program’s 10th 30-plus win season and fifth such year under Dill. Dill coached up three AVCA New England Region winners in Abby Bertics, also the NEWVA Rookie of the Year, Alli Davanzo, and Megan Gebhard. Gebhard, Davanzo, and Tori Wuthrich were also named NEWMAC All-Conference.
MIT reached the NEWMAC Semifinals and the NCAA New England Regional Finals in 2015.