The UVC announced its 2024 individual awards and all-conference teams on Wednesday, April 10. The awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches.
 
Vassar College senior setter/right side Jacob Kim was named the 2024 UVC Player of the Year. Kim, a three-time UVC Player of the Week, has done it all for the UVC regular season champion Brewers in 2024, hitting .337 with slamming 211 kills (2.81 per set), while dishing out 330 assists (4.4 per set), while adding 49 blocks (0.65 per set). And 23 service aces. Kim is the leader of a Vassar offense that is ranked in the top-10 nationally in both kills and assists per set this season.
 
Jacob Kim is the second straight Vassar student-athlete to be named UVC Player of the Year, joining Andrew Kim, who was also the AVCA Division III National Player of the Year last season and third overall, as Matthew Knigge was UVC Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
 
Zach Knudsen of NYU was named the 2024 UVC Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year for the second straight season. Knudsen, a junior, has recorded 2.42 digs per set this season. He has recorded at least 10 digs in a match 11 times this season, including a season-high 18 in a win over Rutgers-Newark on March 2. Knudsen is the lone NYU student-athlete to earn this honor.
 
NYU setter Devyn Nguyen was named the 2024 UVC Rookie of the Year honors. A two-time UVC Rookie of the Week, Nguyen is third among all UVC student-athletes with 9.77 assists per set and in league play, dished out just under 10 assists per set. He has also added 113 digs and 28 blocks on the season. Nguyen has had nine matches with at least 40 assists, including a season-high 54 on two occasions, most recently in a five-set win over Hobart on March 10. He is the second NYU student-athlete to earn UVC Rookie of the Year honors, joining Alex Li, who won the award in 2017.
 
Richard Gary of Vassar was named UVC Coach of the Year. The Brewers finished 6-1 in league play and will host the UVC Championship Tournament for the second straight season. Vassar, who is ranked eighth in the NVA/AVCA Division III National poll, is 22-6 this season and 11-0 at home this season. The Brewers are ranked fourth nationally in blocks per set (2.32), eighth in hitting percentage (.309), eighth in assists per set (11.46) and tenth in kills per set (12.40). Gary earned his second straight UVC Coach of the Year honor and fourth since 2017.
 
Hobart graduate student Andrew Kim, the 2023 UVC Player of the Year and 2023 AVCA Division III National Player of the Year with Vassar, along with senior Owen Wickens of Nazareth, who was also the 2021 Rookie of the Year, both garnered UVC first team accolades for the fourth straight year. Kim leads all of Division III in kills (5.63) and points (6.37) per set. New Paltz graduate student Pat Wing garnered UVC first team honors for the third straight season. MIT graduate student Nick Gustafson and NYU junior middle hitter Ry Kagan also joined Jacob Kim as UVC first team selections.
 
Overall, St. John Fisher University and NYU placed four members apiece on the all-conference team, while MIT was right behind with three and Hobart and Vassar had two apiece.
 
Top-ranked Vassar is set to host the six-team 2024 UVC Championship Tournament this weekend. The quarterfinals will be played on Friday, as No. 4 MIT and No. 5 Hobart meet at 5 p.m., while No. 3 St. John Fisher takes on No. 6 Nazareth at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, top-seed Vassar will play the winner of MIT vs. Hobart in one semifinal at 2:30 p.m., while No. 2 seed NYU will face the winner of St. John Fisher vs. Nazareth in the second semifinal at 5 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2024 UVC Championship on Sunday, April 14 at 2 p.m.

2024 UVC All-Conference Selections
Player of the Year: Jacob Kim, Sr., S/RS, Vassar
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Zach Knudsen, Jr., L/DS, NYU
Rookie of the Year: Devyn Nguyen, Fr., S, NYU
Coach of the Year: Richard Gary, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference First Team
Andrew Kim, Gr., OH, Hobart
Nick Gustafson, Gr., RS, MIT
Owen Wickens, Sr., OH/L, Nazareth
Pat Wing, Gr., OPP/MB, New Paltz
Ry Kagan, Jr., MH, NYU
Jacob Kim, Sr., S/RS, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Second Team
Zach Knudsen, Jr., L/DS, NYU
Lucas Osiecki, Jr., OH, NYU
Jake Baker, Sr., OH, St. John Fisher
Ian Rauh, Jr., MB, St. John Fisher
Griffin Stella, Sr., MB, St. John Fisher
Vaughn Ramsey, Sr., OH, Vassar
 
UVC All-Conference Honorable Mention
Edwin Sosa, Jr., MB, Elmira
Daniel Sappia, Fr., OH, Hobart
Devyn Nguyen, Fr., S, NYU
Phillip Johnson, Sr., MB, MIT
Riley Oh, Jr., S, MIT
Gavin Newman, Jr., S, St. John Fisher

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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.