NEWVA Major Award Recipients
NEWVA All-New England
NEWVA All-Rookie Team
BEVERLY, Mass. - November 15, 2019 - The New England Women’s Volleyball Coaches Association (NEWVA) has released its 2019 NEWVA Annual Awards honoring the region’s Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, the All-New England Teams and the All-Rookie Team.
The NEWVA Annual Award recipients are nominated by and voted on by the organization's member head coaches. The coaches represent the seven competing conferences in NCAA Division III including the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), Little East Conference (LEC), Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), North Atlantic Conference (NAC), New England Collegiate Conference (NECC), New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), and New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).
NEWVA Major Award Recipients
NEWVA Player of the Year
Elizabeth Cameron, Sr., S from El Dorado Hills, Calif.
Babson
In her senior season for the Beavers, Cameron has led Babson to back-to-back NEWMAC titles and the overall No. 2 seed in the New England regional. Currently ranked tied for 16th in the most recent AVCA DIII Coaches Poll, the Beavers swept through the NEWMAC tournament, finishing with a 32-1 record overall heading into NCAA Tournament play on Friday.
The El Dorado Hills, Calif. native has averaged 9.67 assists per set, 2.46 digs per set, and .96 kills per set while hitting at a .307 clip for the year. Cameron led Babson to hit .266 as a team for the season, for a team that averaged 13.17 kills per set through 33 matches. The team's .266 average is the fifth-highest team hitting percentage in all of Division III. For the second time in her career, Cameron has been selected to the NEWVA All-New England First Team, giving her four All-New England honors in her career (2017 & 2019 First Team, 2018 Second Team, 2016 All-Rookie Team). Cameron received 10 first-place votes from NEWVA head coaches.
NEWVA Rookie of the Year
Laura Zuloaga, Fy., H from Naples, Fla.
Babson
Following a freshman campaign in which she has led Babson with her .417 hitting percentage, hitter Laura Zuloaga has garnered NEWVA Rookie of the Year honors. The Naples, Fla. native helped to lead the Beavers to a NEWMAC title, and an overall record of 32-1 in the 2019 season.
The first year heads into the NCAA DIII Tournament averaging 2.29 kills per set, 0.62 blocks per set and 1.13 digs per set.
She notched a season-high 11 kills twice on the season, both times hitting over .500 for the match. Zuloaga first reached 11 kills with her 11-0-21 (.524) performance against NEWMAC foe MIT in a 3-1 win before posting an 11-1-17 (.588) line against Williams in Babson's 3-0 sweep.
Following her campaign, Zuloaga was named to the NEWVA All-Rookie Team as well. Zuloaga received eight first-place votes by NEWVA head coaches.
NEWVA Coach of the Year
Cora Thompson, 17th season
Johnson & Wales (R.I.)
In her 17th season at the helm of the Tufts women's volleyball program, Thompson has enjoyed one of her most successful seasons to date, posting a 27-1 record overall, securing her first NESCAC title, and the No. 1 overall seed in the New England regional in the NCAA DIII Tournament. The Jumbos will host the eight-team pod which begins play today.
Tufts has steadily climbed up the national rankings in the AVCA DIII Coaches Poll throughout the season as the Jumbos enter the NCAA DIII Tournament ranked 13th in the most recent poll. Last weekend, Tufts swept Hamilton 3-0 in the NESCAC Quarterfinals and Middlebury in the NESCAC Semifinals to advance to the eighth NESCAC Championship during her 17 years at the helm. The Jumbos then knocked off Bowdoin 3-2 to claim the program's first NESCAC title since 1996.
For the 2019 season, Tufts is currently hitting .302 as a team, tops in the region, and second nationally. The Jumbos have won 83 of 96 sets played throughout their 28 matches to date. In the NEWVA Coach of the Year voting, Thompson took home 14 first-place first votes.
NEWVA All-New England
FIRST TEAM
Elizabeth Cameron, Babson
Lauren Gedney, Wellesley
Andie Maloney, MIT
Caroline Flaharty, Bowdoin
Mackenzie Kennedy, Endicott
Allie Puccio, Babson
Gigi Alper, Middlebury
SECOND TEAM*
Zoey Gifford, Endicott
Leah Rogoz, Wentworth
Erin Denham, Williams
Becca Houghton, Wheaton (Mass.)
Camryn Bancroft, Springfield
Anna Barry, Eastern Connecticut St.
Izzy Seebold, Wellesley
Amanda Wetmore, WPI
Cori Gray, Bowdoin
Madison Lee, MIT
HONORABLE MENTION*
Alexis Groark, MIT
Kristin Carosotto, Babson
Corley Doyle, Middlebury
Colleen McAvoy, Endicott
Olivia Mathieu, Keene St.
* Additional student-athletes recognized due to ties in the voting.
NEWVA All-Rookie Team
Laura Zuloaga, Babson
Catherine Reynolds, WPI
Ella Haugen, Bowdoin
Jordan Chapman, Wentworth
Emilee Flanagan, Plymouth St.
Harmony Johnson, Suffolk
Kelly Moczulski, MCLA
Jaida Hodge-Adams, Bowdoin