LORETTO, Pa. (April 23, 2012) – Following the final weekend of the regular season, three members of the Saint Francis University men's volleyball team have earned all-conference honors, the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association announced Monday.
 
Alex Kane (York, Pa./West York) claimed first-team honors while Adam Roche (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) and Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) were named to the second team. Joe Sunder of Penn State took home the big award of the season, Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year. The EIVA's Newcomer of the Year award went to Princeton's Cody Kessel while Brian Baise of Harvard was named Bob Sweeney Coach of the Year.
 
“I'm excited to have three of our guys make the all-conference squad this year for the first time in their careers,” head coach Mike Rumbaugh said. “It's great to see Alex and Ryan end their time at Saint Francis with these honors. Hopefully Adam can have another solid season next year and receive honors two years in a row.”
 
Throughout the course of his senior season, Kane earned EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honors three times. The York, Pa. native ended the year sixth in the conference with a .339 attack percentage after putting down a team-best 316 kills. Kane's defense was strong as well, collecting 94 digs and 89 total blocks. In a win over George Mason back in February, the 6-9 opposite set a single-season school record with 35 kills in that match.
 
Twice this season Roche picked up EIVA Defensive Player of the Week awards and finished second in the nation in blocks per set with an average of 1.61. For the season, the Cochranton, Pa. native accumulated a career-best 146 total blocks (15 solo, 131 assisted) as well as over 130 kills. Roche ended his junior campaign with eight matches of eight total blocks or more.
 
As the team's primary setter, Williams dished out 862 assists during his final season in Loretto. His 10.51 assists per set average ranked him second among all setters in the EIVA. The native of Pittsburgh, Pa. collected 75 digs, 58 total blocks and racked up nine matches of over 40 assists.
 
Saint Francis finished its 2012 season with a 12-15 overall record and a 7-7 mark in the EIVA.

All-EIVA First Team
Michael Dye, Princeton, JR, 6'5” MB
Edgardo Goas, Penn State, SR, 6'5” S
Matt Jones, Harvard, SR, 6'3” OH
Alex Kane (York, Pa./West York), Saint Francis, SR, 6'9” OPP
Cody Kessel, Princeton, FR, 6'5”, OPP
Mike Kvidahl, George Mason, JR, 6'8”, OH
Aaron Russell, Penn State, FR,  6'9”, MB
Joe Sunder, Penn State, SR, 6'7”, OH
DJ White, Harvard, FR, 6'5”, OH
Connor Curry, Penn State, FR, 6'0”, L
 
All-EIVA Second Team
Piotr Dabrowski, George Mason, JR, 6'6”, MB
Nick Goodell, Penn State, FR, 6'4”, OPP
Mark Jones, George Mason, JR, 6'5”, OH
TJ Jurko, NJIT, FR, 6'3”, OH
Scott Liljestrom, Princeton, SR, 6'2”, S
Rob Lothman, Harvard, JR, 6'2”, S
Adam Roche (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton), Saint Francis, JR, 6'6”, MB
Nick Turko, Penn State, JR, 6'5”, MB
Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour), Saint Francis, SR, 6'3”, S
Brady Smith, NJIT, JR, 6'0”, L
 
Uvaldo Acosta Memorial EIVA Player of the Year: Joe Sunder, Penn State
EIVA Newcomer of the Year: Cody Kessel, Princeton
Bob Sweeney EIVA Coach of the Year: Brian Baise, Harvard