LEXINGTON, Ky. - The American
Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released its 29th annual
All-American teams for Division III and Salisbury University had
two student-athletes receive honorable mention honors. Senior
libero Gabby Long (Bel Air,
Md.) and senior middle hitter Nicole
Massarelli (Clarksville,
Md.) received honorable mention
All-American honors. The two helped lead the Sea
Gulls to a 32-5 overall record and an appearance in the third-round
of the NCAA tournament, the furthest the SU Volleyball program has
ever advanced in the NCAA tournament.
The SU Volleyball program has had at least one All-American
honor the last three years; the program now has seven
overall.
Long garners honorable mention honors for the second time in two
years. The Bel Air, Md., native has received several other
postseason awards including Mid-Atlantic All-Region first team and
All-Capital Athletic Conference first team. Long, the team's
defensive specialist, has played in all 37 matches; for the season
Long led the team in digs (714) and service aces (56). Long
finished second in the conference in digs and digs per set (5.28),
third in service aces (55) and fifth in service aces per set
(0.46); she set the program's career record for digs on
Oct. 13 against Gallaudet University.
Massarelli collects honorable mention honors for the first time in
her four-year career. The Clarksville, Md., native was also named
to the Mid-Atlantic All-Region first team and All-CAC first team
for her play this season. Massarelli played and started in all 37
matches this season and led the team in sets played (134), solo
blocks (37), total blocks (147) and blocks per set (1.10). In her
four-year career, she has 1,135 kills and 449 blocks. She also
stands ninth in the CAC in hitting percentage (.247). Massarelli
collected her 1,000th career kill on Sept. 29 against Marymount
(Va.) University. She exemplifies what it means to be a
student-athlete, as the middle hitter was named to the 2009-10
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Volleyball First
Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of
America (CoSIDA).
The 2009 All-America selections were made by the AVCA Division
III All-America Committee: Harleigh Chwastyk, Swarthmore,
chairperson; Gina Chambers, Nebraska Wesleyan; Paul Dill, MIT;
Patti Ford, UW-River Falls; Hannah Long, Southwestern, Amber
Warners, Calvin; Cal Wickens, Nazareth and Valerie Cowan,
Pomona-Pitzer.
The awards will be presented Nov. 18, 2009, at the NCAA Division
III Women's National Championship banquet in University Heights,
Ohio, where the 2009 Division III AVCA Player of the Year will be
announced.
