United Volleyball Conference | 3/30/2020 10:58:01 AM

Five individuals from five different institutions garnered an individual award, as the United Volleyball Conference announced its 2020 All-Conference selections on Monday, March 30. The awards are voted on by the league’s nine head coaches.
 
Senior setter Matthew Grace of defending NCAA Champion SUNY New Paltz and St. John Fisher sophomore outside hitter Josh Bigford shared Player of the Year honors, while senior Thomas Nelson of MIT garnered his third straight Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year accolade. Vassar first-year standout Gavin van Beveren was named the UVC Rookie of the Year, while José Piña of NYU was named Coach of the Year.
 
Grace led all of Division III with 11.00 assists per set. He also had 88 digs and 15 service aces in leading the Hawks to a 16-3 overall record and 4-1 mark in UVC play. He has 4,102 career assists in four seasons at New Paltz and earned his third straight all-league honor.
 
Bigford helped lead the Cardinals to their best start in program history at 15-4 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Cardinals were ranked as high as No. 7 in the NVA/AVCA Division III National poll. Bigford, the 2019 UVC Rookie of the Year, was second in the league and 15th nationally with 4.00 kills per set and 17th in Division III with 4.58 points per set.
 
Nelson was honored as Libero/Defensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, the first player in UVC history to earn three individual awards. Nelson was second among all UVC student-athletes and 21st nationally with 2.79 digs per set. He helped lead MIT to a 17-4 overall record and 4-1 mark in league play, as the Engineers were ranked as high as 13th in the NVA/AVCA Division III National poll,
 
Van Beveren was in the midst of a tremendous first season for Vassar, who ascended to as high as No. 2 in the NVA/AVCA Division III National poll. The first-year middle blocker was second in the UVC and third nationally with a .434 hitting percentage to go along with 190 kills, 71 blocks and 22 service aces. His 0.90 blocks per set were second in the league and 26th in Division III.
 
Piña had the Violets in position for perhaps their most successful season in program history. NYU started 12-0 and were the No. 1 team in the NVA/AVCA Division III National poll for the first time in program history on Feb. 25. Overall, NYU was 13-3 when the season was cut short after action on March 11. It is Piña’s second UVC Coach of the Year award, as he also was honored in 2012.
 
The New Paltz trio of Grace, and classmates Aaron Carrk and Nick O’Malley, along with Bigford, senior Evan Lindley of NYU and senior Kevin Ros of Vassar earned All-UVC First Team honors. Grace, Bigford and Lindley earned first team honors for the second straight season, while Carrk and O’Malley were second team selections last year. Second team selection Neil Ferraro of NYU earned All-UVC honors for an unprecedented fourth consecutive year. He was also a second team pick in 2017 and earned first team honors in 2018 and 2019.
 
The league decided to honor its student-athletes with postseason honors despite the season being canceled due to the COVID-19 virus. The final games were played on March 11. When the season was cut short, four different teams had just one loss in league play and five were separated by just one loss in the loss column. NYU (2), New Paltz (3), Vassar (4), St. John Fisher (9) and MIT (13) were all ranked in the most recent NVA/AVCA Division III Men’s Volleyball Coaches poll.
   
Co-Player of the Year: Matthew Grace, Sr., S, New Paltz
Co-Player of the Year: Josh Bigford, So., OH, St. John Fisher
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Thomas Nelson, Sr.., L, MIT
Rookie of the Year: Gavin van Beveren, Fr., MB, Vassar
Coach of the Year: José Piña, NYU
 
UVC All-Conference First Team
Aaron Carrk, Sr., OPP, New Paltz
Matthew Grace, Sr., S, New Paltz
Nick O’Malley, Sr., MB, New Paltz
Evan Lindley, Sr., OPP, NYU
Josh Bigford, So., OH, St. John Fisher
Kevin Ros, Sr., OH, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Second Team
Thomas Nelson, L, Sr., MIT
Matin Bikdeli, Sr., S, NYU
Neil Ferraro, Sr., MB/OPP, NYU
Alex Li, Sr., OH, NYU
Paul Hackford, St. John Fisher
Gavin van Beveren, Fr., MB, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Honorable Mention
Troy Oliveira, So., OH, MIT
Jack Yurkanian, Fr., OH, MIT
Sean Dillon, Sr., MB/RS, Nazareth
Robert Nolan, Sr., L/DS, New Paltz
Shane Wenz, Sr., MH/OH, Sage
Ryan Duchemin, Jr., MB, Vassar
Steven Koja, Fr., S, Vassar
 
ABOUT THE UNITED VOLLEYBALL CONFERENCE
The members of the United Volleyball Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. For more on the UVC visit www.theuvc.org.