WILEY AND ERNST CLAIM ECC INAUGURAL ECC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL MAJOR AWARDS

WILEY AND ERNST CLAIM ECC INAUGURAL ECC MEN'S VOLLEYBALL MAJOR AWARDS
April 19, 2024

Courtesy of the East Coast Conference

WEST BABYLON, N.Y. (4/19/24)  The East Coast Conference announced its 2024 Men's Volleyball All-Conference honorees and major award winners on Friday afternoon ahead of this weekend's inaugural ECC Men's Volleyball Championship. St. Thomas Aquinas freshman outside hitter Kyran Versteegen was named the Player of the Year while Roberts Wesleyan sophomore libero Moises Jimenez (Libero of the Year), St. Thomas Aquinas freshman setter Joaquin La Jara (Setter of the Year), and Dominican freshman outside hitter Phinehas Wiley (Rookie of the Year) rounded out the player awards. Mike Dedee of Roberts Wesleyan and Patrick Ernst of Dominican shared Coach of the Year recognition. All voting was completed by the league's four head coaches.

Versteegen, a two-time ECC Player of the Week and three-time ECC Rookie of the Week, ranked second in service aces per set (.43, 15th in the nation), hitting percentage (.247), and total points (231.5), third in points per set (3.36), total service aces (30), and total block assists (35), fourth in total kills (178) and kills per set (2.58), and fifth in total blocks (41) in the ECC this spring. 

Among conference competition only, Versteegen dominated with an ECC-leading 104 total points, 4.73 points per set, .395 hitting percentage, and .55 service aces per set. He also sat second in total kills (83) and kills per set (3.77). 

With 164 assists through 17 sets against conference competition, three-time ECC Setter of the Week La Jara averaged an ECC-leading 9.65 assists per set, an average of .87 assists more than the second-highest total in the league. La Jara put up double-digit assist numbers 12 times this season, including 30+ five times against Roberts Wesleyan (39, 39, 31), Merrimack (37), and American International (32). 

Led by Versteegen, La Jara, and All-Conference freshman rightside hitter Gabriel Vieira, St. Thomas Aquinas (9-12) earned the inaugural ECC Men's Volleyball Regular-Season Championship after going 5-1 in regular-season conference play, with sweeps of Roberts Wesleyan and American International and a split with Dominican. The Spartans lead the conference and rank ninth nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.213) and also sit atop the ECC in assists per set (9.61), blocks per set (1.77), and kills per set (10.19) as the No. 1 entering this weekend's championship.

Jimenez, a four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week, led the conference in total digs (219) and digs per set (2.74), the latter of which currently ranks fifth in the nation. Among ECC competition only, Jimenez once again tops the stats with 72 total digs and 3.13 digs per set. He went off for a career-high 24 digs in a 3-2 win over Dominican in the regular-season finale. 

Led by Jimenez and fellow All-Conference selections Paul Fillion, Jonah Grbic, Noah Liousfi, and Griffin Monrad, the Redhawks lead the conference in digs per set (9.21) and team attacks per set (27.41), which rank eighth and 13th in the nation, respectively, heading into this weekend's championship as the No. 2 seed.

Wiley, a five-time ECC Player of the Week and four-time ECC Rookie of the Week, led the conference in total points (320) and points per set (4.05) and total kills (274) and kills per set (3.47). Among conference competition only, Wiley headlined the total kills (93) and kills per set (3.88) categories while ranking second in total points (102) and points per set (4.25). Wiley had 15+ kills six times on the season, including 24 at John Jay and 23 at American International. 

Wiley and the Chargers top the conference in aces per set (1.63, 13th nationally) and hitting percentage (.207) and enter this weekend's championship as the No. 3 seed. 

Dedee and Ernst share ECC Coach of the Year honors after guiding their squads to identical 3-3 marks in conference play. Dedee's Redhawks finished the regular season 8-15 overall while Ernst's Chargers went 11-12. 

Joining Versteegen, Jimenez, and Wiley on the All-Conference Team are Roberts Wesleyan's Paul Fillion, Jonah Grbic, Noah Liousfi, and Griffin Monrad, American International's Robert Santana, and St. Thomas Aquinas' Gabriel Vieira. 

2023-24 ECC Men's Volleyball All-Conference Team
Paul Fillion, Roberts Wesleyan
Jonah Grbic, Roberts Wesleyan
Moises Jimenez, Roberts Wesleyan
Noah Liousfi, Roberts Wesleyan
Griffin Monrad, Roberts Wesleyan
Robert Santana, American International
Kyran Versteegen, St. Thomas Aquinas
Gabriel Vieira, St. Thomas Aquinas
Phinehas Wiley, Dominican
*Three-way tie for the seventh/final spot on team

Player of the Year: Kyran Versteegen, St. Thomas Aquinas
Libero of the Year: Moises Jimenez, Roberts Wesleyan
Setter of the Year: Joaquin La Jara, St. Thomas Aquinas
Rookie of the Year: Phinehas Wiley, Dominican
Co-Coach of the Year: Mike Dedee, Roberts Wesleyan and Patrick Ernst, Dominican

The aim of Dominican University New York is to promote educational excellence, leadership, and service in an environment characterized by respect for the individual and concern for the community and its needs. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, the university is an independent institution of higher learning, Catholic in origin and heritage. In the Dominican tradition, it fosters the active, shared pursuit of truth and embodies an ideal of education rooted in the values of reflective understanding and compassionate involvement.  Committed to building its programs upon a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences, the university maintains a student-centered climate and serves a diverse community of students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The university empowers this community of learners to excel, lead and serve with integrity and to engage responsibly in the pursuit of a more just, ethical and sustainable world.  Dominican also sponsors 17 varsity intercollegiate sports that compete at the NCAA Division II level.  To learn more about Dominican University New York, please visit www.duny.edu.