CENTER VALLEY, Pa — The top two seeds of the 2019 Patriot League Volleyball Tournament, American and Colgate, each received two of the League’s five volleyball major awards when the League office announced its postseason honors Monday afternoon. The Loyola Maryland Greyhounds garnered one major award as they head into the tournament as the No. 6 seed.
Colgate junior outside hitter Alli Lowe was named the Patriot League Player of the Year, while Lowe’s head coach, Ryan Baker, received his third coach of the year honor. American junior Olivia Wassner nabbed setter of the year honors and teammate outside hitter Zeynep Uzen earned rookie of the year.
Greyhounds’ sophomore libero Katie Forsythe rounded out the major awards as she garnered the Patriot League Libero of the Year for the second season in a row.
Seven student-athletes were named to the 2019 Patriot League first and second teams. Of the 14 All-League selections, there are four seniors, six juniors, three sophomores and one freshman.
The Eagles led the way with four overall All-League selections, followed by Colgate with three. Army West Point, Lehigh and Loyola Maryland had two All-League selections, while Navy had one.
The major awards and All-Patriot League teams were voted on by the nine Patriot League volleyball head coaches, who could not vote for their student-athletes or themselves.
2019 Patriot League Player of the Year
Alli Lowe, Colgate, Jr., OH
* Lowe finished the regular season averaging 4.00 kills and 2.06 digs per set. She also had a .217 hitting percentage, 40 total blocks (14 solo/26 assists).
* Lowe’s kills average ranks second in the Patriot League stat sheets this season.
* The junior collected a career-high 31 kills in the Raiders’ 3-2 win at Sacred Heart in early September.
* Lowe was the 2017 rookie of the year, and was placed on the first team followed by a second-team All-Patriot League honor in 2018.
2019 Patriot League Setter of the Year
Olivia Wassner, American, Jr., S
* Wassner ended regular season play with 9.85 assists and 2.39 digs per set. She also had 59 service aces, which was good for first in the League. The junior also nabbed 50 block assists and eight solo blocks.
* Wassner’s service aces per set mark (0.64) ranks second in the nation.
* In the team’s 3-2 victory Loyola Maryland, the junior earned season-highs in digs (19), points (17), kills (9) and aces (6).
2019 Patriot League Libero of the Year
Katie Forsythe, Loyola Maryland, So., L
* The back-to-back libero of the year enters postseason play leading NCAA Division I with 726 digs, as she leads the Patriot League with 6.15 per set.
* Forsythe broke her own school and Patriot League record for digs in a single season with 726 after recording 26 in last week’s 3-1 win over Lehigh.
* Earlier in the season, she became the fastest Patriot League player to 1,000 career digs, and the sophomore libero currently ranks third in Loyola Maryland’s record books with 1,423 digs.
2019 Patriot League Rookie of the Year
Zeynep Uzen, American, Fr., OH
* The freshman averaged 2.74 kills and 3.11 points per set with a .305 hitting percentage in 85 sets played this season.
* Uzen also tallied 153 digs and 17 block assists in regular season play.
2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year
Ryan Baker, Colgate
* Baker led the Raiders to a 3-1 win over American, which marked the first victory over the Eagles since the 2012 season. It snapped the Eagles’ 16-match win streak in the head-to-head series.
* Baker is now a three-time coach of the year after receiving the honor in 2007 and 2012.
* He has had 13 appearances in the Patriot League Tournament in his 14 seasons at Colgate.
* He led the Raiders to four players of the week honors this season.
2019 Patriot League Volleyball Major Award Winners
Player of the Year: Alli Lowe, Colgate, Jr., OH
Setter of the Year: Olivia Wassner, American, Jr., S
Libero of the Year: Katie Forsythe, Loyola Maryland, So., L
Rookie of the Year: Zeynep Uzen, American, Fr., OH
Coach of the Year: Ryan Baker, Colgate
All-Patriot League First Team
Olivia Wassner, American, Jr., S
Zeynep Uzen, American, Fr., OH
Helena Elbaek, American, Jr., OH
Monica Eckford, Army West Point, Jr., MB
Alli Lowe, Colgate, Jr., OH
Julia Kurowski, Colgate, So., S
Katie Forsythe, Loyola Maryland, So., L
All-Patriot League Second Team
Kristen Largay, American, Sr., L
Emmy Barnhorst, Army West Point, So., MB
Alex Stein, Colgate, Sr., OH
Emily Poole, Lehigh, Sr., MB
Hannah Wright, Lehigh, Jr., OH
Ann Ernst, Loyola Maryland, Sr., OH
Maddi Sgattoni, Navy, Jr., OH
Note: Teams are listed in alphabetical order by school
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.