United Volleyball Conference | 4/8/2021 1:49:43 PM

Senior Setter Matthew Grace of SUNY New Paltz was named the 2021 United Volleyball Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, as the league announced its individual awards and all-conference teams on Thursday, April 8.
 
Grace leads all UVC players, averaging 10 assists per set and is the leader of a stout New Paltz offense, which is looking to not only win its second straight league title, but repeat as NCAA Division III National Champions. He is New Paltz’s all-time leader with 4,422 career assists. Grace was the UVC co-Player of the Year in 2020 and is a four-time All-UVC selection, garnering second team accolades in 2018 and first team plaudits in each of the last three seasons.
 
Grace’s teammate Robert Nolan was named the UVC Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year. A senior, Nolan is third among all UVC players, averaging 2.59 digs per set, while helping lead the Hawks to the regular season title and top-seed in the upcoming tournament.
 
Nazareth’s Owen Wickens was named UVC Rookie of the Year. An outside hitter/libero, Wickens made an immediate impact for the Golden Flyers and was a three-time UVC Rookie of the Week in March. He is fourth overall among all UVC players in kills per set (3.00), fourth in service aces per set (0.36) and fifth in digs per set (1.73). Wickens is the second Nazareth player to be named UVC Rookie of the Year, joining Jake Kemp (2015).
 
Richard Gary of Vassar was named UVC Coach of the Year. Vassar finished 5-3 in league play and is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming postseason tournament. He was also named UVC Coach of the Year in 2017.
 
St. John Fisher junior Josh Bigford, the 2019 UVC Rookie of the Year and 2020 co-Player of the Year was named a UVC first team selection for the third straight season. Nick O’Malley also earned All-UVC honors for the third straight season, along with teammate Aaron Carrk. Vassar sophomore Andrew Kim, along with Wickens and New Paltz junior Brendan Spulnick were also first team selections.
 
Overall, New Paltz placed five members on the all-conference team, while Vassar and St. John Fisher were right behind with four each and Nazareth had three.
 
New Paltz, Vassar, St. John Fisher and Nazareth will compete in the four-team 2021 UVC Championship Tournament, with the semifinal matches taking place on Friday at Elmira College’s Speidel Gymnasium. New Paltz will face No. 4 Nazareth at 4 p.m., while No. 2 seed Vassar and No. 3 St. John Fisher are set to compete at 7 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2021 UVC Championship on Sunday, April 11.
   
Player of the Year: Matthew Grace, Sr., S, New Paltz
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Robert Nolan, Sr., L/DS, New Paltz
Rookie of the Year: Owen Wickens, Fr., OH/L, Nazareth
Coach of the Year: Richard Gary, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference First Team
Owen Wickens, Fr., OH/L, Nazareth
Matthew Grace, Sr., S, New Paltz
Nick O’Malley, Sr., MB, New Paltz
Brendan Spulnick, Jr., OH, New Paltz
Josh Bigford, Jr., OH, St. John Fisher
Andrew Kim, So., OH, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Second Team
Antonio Sargent, Sr., OH, Nazareth
Aaron Carrk, Sr., OPP, New Paltz
Robert Nolan, Sr., L/DS, New Paltz
AJ Erickson, Fr., S, Vassar
Colin Jones, Fr., MB, Vassar
Gavin van Beveren, So., MB, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Honorable Mention
Trent Caviness, So., S/OH, Nazareth
David Cerqua, Sr., L/DS, St. John Fisher
Ivan Lopez, Jr., MB, St. John Fisher
Dylan Urbanski, Jr., S, St. John Fisher
 
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