NEVC Announces Postseason Awards; Nichols Claims Three of Four Major Awards
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) has announced its 2024 All-Conference teams and major award winners on Monday morning. The awards were voted on by the conference’s eight head coaches following the conclusion of the regular season schedule. Undefeated in regular season play, Nichols College earned four All-Conference nods and three major award winners. Russell Sage College nabbed the remaining major award. Each of the conference institutions also saw a student-athlete honored on the sportsmanship team.
Nichols graduate student Jack Normandin (Clifton Park, N.Y.) was voted the 2024 NEVC Player of the Year, while teammate Cade Bernardi (Rexford, N.Y.) was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Sage’s Dylan Fox (Albany, N.Y.) earned Rookie of the Year honors. Nichols head coach Andre Foster was voted Coach of the Year by his peers.
Joining Normandin on the first team are teammates Dylan Knapp (Wethersfield, Conn.), Carlos Mercado (Barranquitas, Puerto Rico) and Tanner Soracco (Oxford, Conn.). Eastern Nazarene College’s Alejandro Garcia Ferandez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) also earned first team honors, as did Endicott College’s Aidan Iacovelli (South Windsor, Conn.) and SUNY Poly’s James Mion (Burnt Hills. N.Y.).
Endicott College leads the second team selections with three, as Gavin Emenaker (Newton, Mass.), Jake Laborde (Brookline, N.H.) and Dean Warner (Kinderhook. N.Y.) all garnered the accolade. Eastern Nazarene saw two student-athletes selected to the second team in Delfy Soler (Lawrence, Mass.) and Jacob Zarges (Quincy, Mass.). SUNY Potsdam also placed two on the second team in Matt Kilinski (Greenfield Center, N.Y.) and Duncan Tenhagen (Buffalo, N.Y.)
NECC Player of the Year – Jack Normandin, Nichols (GS., OH, Clifton Park, N.Y.)
Graduate student Jack Normandin led the Bison to an undefeated record in conference play, and the Bison's second consecutive NEVC title. He was second in the league with 3.63 kills per set and 319 total kills, to go along with a .396 hitting percentage. He improved in conference play with 3.76 kills per set, and a .515 hitting percentage, both good for second in the league. He was also top-ten in the league in digs per set in conference play (1.94), service aces per set in conference play (0.41) and points per set (4.2). He pieced together three double-doubles on the season. Normandin was a four-time 2024 NEVC Player of the Week selection.
NECC Defensive Player of the Year – Cade Bernardi, Nichols (Fr., L, Rexford, N.Y.)
Freshman Cade Bernardi appeared in 25 of 26 matches totaling 79 sets for the Bison, helping Nichols to an undefeated 7-0 league record. He led the Bison with 146 digs and 1.70 digs per set, which puts him in the top 10 of the league. Overall, his reception percentage was .973 and increased to 1.000 in conference play, as he committed zero reception errors.
NECC Rookie of the Year – Dylan Fox, Sage (Fr., OH, Albany, N.Y.)
In his rookie campaign, Dylan Fox was in the top five in the NEVC in total kills with 274. He averaged 2.77 kills per set, which was also good for top-ten in the NEVC. He also totaled 160 total digs, which was good for third in the league. Fox was a five-time NEVC Rookie of the Week.
NECC Coach of the Year – Andre Foster, Nichols
In his first season at the helm for the Bison, Foster led Nichols to a 7-0 conference record, and their second-straight NEVC title, finishing the season with a No. 11 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) ranking - the best in program history. Under his guidance, the Bison led the league with 12.11 kills per set and 11.04 assists per set. He coached four all-conference honorees, including two major award winners. This is Foster’s first NEVC Coach of the Year accolade.
First Team All-Conference
Alejandro Garcia Fernandez, Eastern Nazarene College
Aidan Iacovelli, Endicott College
Dylan Knapp, Nichols College
Carlos Mercado, Nichols College
Jack Normandin, Nichols College
Tanner Soracco, Nichols College
James Mion, SUNY Poly
2nd Team All-Conference
Delfy Soler, Eastern Nazarene College
Jacob Zarges, Eastern Nazarene College
Gavin Emenaker, Endicott College
Jake Laborde, Endicott College
Dean Warner, Endicott College
Matt Kilinski, SUNY Potsdam
Duncan Tenhagen, SUNY Potsdam
Sportsmanship Team
Quinn Lewis, Bard College
Jacob Zarges, Eastern Nazarene College
Ryan Childress, Endicott College
Reece Backer, Nichols College
Nate Jennings, SUNY Poly
Michael Anderson, SUNY Potsdam
Alexander Bergman, Russell Sage College
Luke Walters, Vermont State- Johnson
About the NEVC
The NEVC is a NCAA Division III single-sport conference sponsoring the sport of men’s volleyball. The conference is comprised of eight institutions, Bard College, Eastern Nazarene College, Endicott College, Nichols College, Northern Vermont University – Johnson, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Potsdam and Russell Sage College.