2012 Men's Volleyball AMCC All-Conference Awards
PITTSBURGH, PA – The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference announced the men’s volleyball inaugural All-Conference team April 3. Hilbert’s Adam Weaver and Ryan Ratajczak were recognized for their abilities and performances over the course of the 2012 season. Medaille College’s Erin Kelly (Player of the Year) and Jordan James (Newcomer of the Year) were honored with the top individual awards and Penn State Behrend’s Phil Pisano was named the Coach of the Year.
Weaver {in photo to right} was named as a First Team All-Conference player after leading the Hawks with 287 kills from the outside hitter’s position. He completed the season ranked #2 in the AMCC with 3.30 kills per set and was one of three sophomores to be named to an all-conference team. Named as a Second Team All-Conference player, Ratajczak {in photo to left} finished his first year of collegiate play with 239 digs good for 2.75 digs per set, ranking him #2 in the AMCC. Ratajczak was the only freshman named to either of the two All-Conference teams announced.
Hilbert finished the season at 6-21, breaking a few records along the way. As a team, they won more matches in a season than any of the other team since the volleyball program was established during the 2000 season. The Hawks put up a good fight against the #7 ranked Nazareth College in February when Hilbert beat the Golden Flyers for the first time ever in their 25-21 second-set victory.
In the April 3 release of the NCAA Division III men's volleyball rankings, the Hawks sit at number eighteen with 10 digs per set. Individually, Ratajczak is ranked tenth in digs per set with 2.75. Weaver holds down the 20th slot with his 3.3 kills per set and freshman Stephen Phillips is ranked 34th with 7.18 assists per set.
Medaille grabbed four of the eight First Team selections, followed by D’Youville’s two, while Behrend and Hilbert each earned one slot.
Medaille was crowned the inaugural AMCC men’s volleyball champion after sweeping Hilbert in the semi-finals and D’Youville in the championship match, 3-0.