The United Volleyball Conference announced its 2022 individual awards and all-conference teams on Thursday, April 7. The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches.
 
New Paltz senior outside hitter Chris Shanley was named the 2022 UVC Player of the Year. Shanley, the UVC Player of the Week on March 28, has helped New Paltz to a 7-0 record in league play. He averaged 3.31 kills and 3.75 points per set in league play and has recorded at least 10 kills in six matches this season. Shanley is the third New Paltz student-athlete to be named UVC Player of the Year, joining Christian Smith (2016) and Matthew Grace (2020 and 2021)
 
David Cerqua of St. John Fisher was named the 2022 UVC Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year honor. Cerqua, a graduate student, leads the UVC and is among the national leaders with 3.15 digs per set. He is the first St. John Fisher student-athlete to earn this honor.
 
Vassar College’s Payne Lounsbery was named UVC Rookie of the Year. An outside hitter/libero, Lounsbery made an immediate impact for the No. 9 Brewers and was the UVC Rookie of the Week on Feb. 28. He has slammed 110 kills to go along with 67 digs, 28 blocks and 23 service aces and is tenth in the UVC with a .323 hitting percentage. Lounsbery is the third Vassar student-athlete to be named UVC Rookie of the Year, joining Zechariah Lee (2015) and current teammate Gavin van Beveren (2020).
 
Radu Petrus of New Paltz was named UVC Coach of the Year. New Paltz is currently ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Division III rankings with a 19-5 record. The Hawks finished 7-0 in league play and are the top-seed and will host the UVC Championship Tournament. Petrus, who led New Paltz to the 2016 and 2019 NCAA Division III Men’s Volleyball Championships, was also named UVC Coach of the Year in 2016.
 
St. John Fisher senior 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 fourth straight season. Junior Andrew Kim of Vassar, along with sophomore Owen Wickens of Nazareth, who was also the 2021 Rookie of the Year, garnered UVC first team accolades for the second straight year. NYU senior James Haag and New Paltz junior Pat Wing were also 2022 UVC first team selections.
 
Overall, New Paltz placed five members on the all-conference team, while Vassar was right behind with four and St. John Fisher had three.
 
New Paltz is set to host the six-team 2022 UVC Championship Tournament this weekend. The quarterfinals will be played on Friday, as No. 4 NYU and No. 5 Nazareth meet at 5 p.m., while No. 3 Vassar takes on No. 6 Elmira at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, top-seed New Paltz will play the winner of NYU vs. Nazareth in one semifinal at 2:30 p.m., while No. 2 seed St. John Fisher will face the winner of Vassar vs. Elmira in the second semifinal at 5 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2022 UVC Championship on Sunday, April 10 at 2 p.m.
   
Player of the Year: Chris Shanley, Sr., OH, New Paltz
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: David Cerqua, Gr., L/DS, St. John Fisher
Rookie of the Year: Payne Lounsbery, Fr., OH/L, Vassar
Coach of the Year: Radu Petrus, New Paltz
 
UVC All-Conference First Team
Owen Wickens, So., OH/L, Nazareth
Chris Shanley, Sr., OH, New Paltz
Pat Wing, Jr., MB, New Paltz
James Haag, Sr., OH, NYU
Josh Bigford, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher
Andrew Kim, Jr., OH, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Second Team
Oscar Munoz Trindad, Jr., OH, Elmira
Kyle Shaffer, Sr., S, New Paltz
Brendan Spulnick, Sr., OH, New Paltz
Jake Baker, So., OH, St. John Fisher
Jacob Kim, So., S, Vassar
Gavin van Beveren, Jr., MB, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Honorable Mention
Jack Yurkanin, Jr., OH, MIT
John Ronan, Sr., MB, New Paltz
Ryan Whealen, Sr., S, NYU
Antonio Sargent, Gr., OH, Nazareth
David Cerqua, Gr., L/DS, St. John Fisher
Payne Lounsbery, Fr., OH/L, 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