BETHLEHEM, Pa — The Lafayette Leopards, the No. 2 seed of the 2021 Patriot League Volleyball Championship, earned two of the five major awards when the League office announced its postseason honors Monday afternoon. Army West Point, Colgate and Loyola Maryland all recorded one major award.
Lafayette senior outside hitter Leanna Deegan was named the Patriot League Player of the Year while head coach Ryan Adams earned coach of the year.
Loyola Maryland senior libero Katie Forsythe collected libero of the year laurels for the fourth time, and Colgate Julia Kurowski was named setter of the year for the second-straight year.
Army freshman setter Diana Ethridge rounded out the major-award winners as she garnered Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors.
Fourteen student-athletes were named to the 2021 Patriot League first and second teams, including eight seniors, three sophomores, one freshman, one junior and one graduate student. Colgate and Lafayette led the way with three All-League selections each, while American, Army, Loyola and Navy all had two honorees on the teams.
The first team is led by Deegan and Kurowski – two of the postseason major award winners. Joining them are American junior outside hitter Zeynep Uzen, Army sophomore middle blocker Paige Fixemer, Colgate sophomore outside hitter Libby Overmyer and graduate student outside hitter Alli Lowe, and Loyola Maryland senior outside hitter Abby Hamilton.
On the second team, Forsythe, the libero of the year, is joined by American senior middle blocker Carlie Fikse, Army senior middle blocker Emmy Barnhorst, Lafayette sophomore libero Katie Weston and senior middle blocker Madi Wahrmund, and Navy sophomore middle blocker Maggie Bodman and senior opposite hitter Avery Stowell.
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.
2021 Patriot League Player of the Year
Leanna Deegan, Lafayette, Sr., OH, Easton, Pa./Easton Area
* Deegan finished the regular season averaging a League-leading 5.90 kills per set and a team-leading 2.28 digs per set in 74 sets played.
* She also had 17 service aces and 24 total blocks (four solo/20 assists).
* Deegan has held the top spot in kills per set in all of NCAA Division I since September 26.
* She was named to the All-Patriot League First Team following the Spring 2021 season.
2021 Patriot League Setter of the Year
Julia Kurowski, Colgate, Sr., S, Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster Central
* The two-time setter of the year paced the team with 779 assists to go with 196 digs and 42 block assists in 90 sets played during the regular season.
* The senior setter helped guide the Raiders to their first outright regular-season title since the 2012 season.
* Kurowski’s 8.66 assists per set rank fourth in the Patriot League this season.
* Kurowski was named Colgate’s first setter of the year in program history in the Spring of 2020-21, and collected First-Team All-Patriot League laurels in 2019 and 2020-21.
2021 Patriot League Libero of the Year
Katie Forsythe, Loyola Maryland, Sr., L, Perry Ohio/Gilmour Academy
* The four-time libero of the year ended her season campaign leading the League with 5.74 digs per set in the regular season.
* Forsythe holds the League’s record in career digs with a total of 2,177 digs. She earned this feat after tallying 33 digs against American on October 23. The mark was previously held by AU's Kristen Largay with 2,012 digs.
* Forsythe is the NCAA's active career leader in digs per set at 5.93 while ranking fourth in NCAA Division I history in digs per set.
2021 Patriot League Rookie of the Year
Diana Ethridge, Army West Point, Fr., S, Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton
* Ethridge recorded 898 assists, 212 digs and 28 block assists as the team went 11-5 in the regular season.
* The freshman averaged 9.35 assists per set to rank third in the Patriot League this season.
* Ethridge was named Patriot League Volleyball Rookie of the Week three times, including August 31, October 12 and November 2.
2021 Patriot League Coach of the Year
Ryan Adams, Lafayette
* Adams led the Leopards to a 12-4 Patriot League record and the No. 2 seed in the 2021 Patriot League Volleyball Championship.
* The Leopards’ No. 2 seed marks the program’s highest seed ever in the postseason.
* Under Adams, Lafayette set the program record for Patriot League wins in a season (10) after their 3-0 sweep over Lehigh on November 6.
2021 Patriot League Volleyball Major Award Winners
Player of the Year: Leanna Deegan, Lafayette, Sr., OH
Setter of the Year: Julia Kurowski, Colgate, Sr., S
Libero of the Year: Katie Forsythe, Loyola Maryland, Sr., L
Rookie of the Year: Diana Ethridge, Army West Point, Fr., S
Coach of the Year: Ryan Adams, Lafayette
All-Patriot League First Team
Zeynep Uzen, American, Jr., OH
Paige Fixemer, Army West Point, So., MB
Julia Kurowski, Colgate, Sr., S
Libby Overmyer, Colgate, So., OH
Alli Lowe, Colgate, Gr., OH
Leanna Deegan, Lafayette, Sr., OH
Abby Hamilton, Loyola Maryland, Sr., OH
All-Patriot League Second Team
Carlie Fikse, American, Sr., MB
Emmy Barnhorst, Army West Point, Sr., MB/OPP
Katie Weston, Lafayette, So., L
Madi Wahrmund, Lafayette, Sr., MB
Katie Forsythe, Loyola Maryland, Sr., L
Maggie Bodman, Navy, So., MB
Avery Stowell, Navy, Sr., OPP
Note: Teams are listed in alphabetical order by school
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth 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.