NEW HAVEN, Conn. - - Highlighted by the 2022 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the Wilmington University volleyball team placed three student-athletes on the All-CACC Teams, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
Junior libero Elly Collins (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) was named the 2022 CACC Defensive Player of the Year while being joined on the All-CACC First Team by graduate student middle hitter Kacey Affrunti (Bayport, N.Y.). Junior outside hitter Heather Pedrick (High Springs, Fla.) earned her second straight Second Team All-CACC honor.
Elly Collins becomes the second Wildcat to be named CACC Defensive Player of the Year in program history, joining Jenna Brown from the 2018 season. She is just the sixth Wildcat to earn a major conference award in program history. She joins Julia Atkins (2004 Player of the Year), Katie Shorter (2012 Player of the Year), Allison Briley (2013 Rookie of the Year), Erin Bistany (2014 Rookie of the Year), and Brown in the record books.
The libero leads the CACC and is 60th in NCAA DII in averaging 4.70 digs per set. Her 526 digs also lead the CACC and is the seventh most in a single season in the program's NCAA era. Collins had 30 or more digs in three matches this year, including an incredible 31 in three sets at Caldwell. Her season high came at the Wildcat Regional Invitational tallying 34 in four sets against Adelphi.
For the fourth time in her career, Kacey Affrunti has been named First Team All-Conference, this year being no different than her three seasons in the East Coast Conference (ECC) with Molloy. She was named the ECC Rookie of the Year in 2017, the ECC Player of the Year in 2019, and First Team All-ECC in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She is now First Team All-CACC after leading the Wildcats in putting down 2.84 kills per set while hitting at a .344 clip, ranking third in the CACC. Her 1.07 blocks per set ties her atop the CACC while ranking 49th in NCAA DII. Affrunti had 16 matches with double digit kills, including a season high 20 at Post. She had 17 kills and 10 total blocks in a 3-1 win over Jefferson on October 4.
It is the second year in a row that Heather Pedrick has been named Second Team All-CACC, becoming the 10th Wildcat in program history to earn multiple All-CACC honors. She finished second on the team and 15th in the CACC in averaging 2.70 kills per set. She was also second on the team and 13th in the CACC in averaging 3.15 digs per set. She led the team with 38 aces on the year, averaging 0.33 per set, and had 46 blocks on the year as well. She had a triple-double against Florida Tech with 12 kills, 13 assists and 14 digs. He totaled 12 double-doubles on the year, including a 19-kill, 28-dig performance against Bloomfield on October 8. She had a career high 29 digs against Chestnut Hill on September 21.
Thomas Jefferson's Jess Molen was named the CACC Player of the Year while Bridgeport's Marissa Mullins was named the CACC Rookie of the Year. Chestnut Hill's Mia Caporellie was voted as the CACC Setter of the Year and Jefferson's head coach Latifa Raheem was voted as the CACC Coach of the Year. Alliance earned the Team Sportsmanship Award to round out the Major Award winners.
AGATE
2022 CACC Women's Volleyball All-Conference Teams
First Team:
L – Elly Collins (Wilmington University)
S – Mia Caporellie (Chestnut Hill College)
OH – Nylene Mateo (Georgian Court University)
OH – Jess Molen (Thomas Jefferson University)
OH – Henielys Ramos (Chestnut Hill College)
MB – Kacey Affrunti (Wilmington University)
MB – Marissa Mullins (University of Bridgeport)
Second Team:
L – Faith Zehnder (Holy Family University)
S – Jaden Drollinger (University of Bridgeport)
OH – Allyssa Hartney (Holy Family University)
OH – Heather Pedrick (Wilmington University)
OH – Morgan Ritchie (Thomas Jefferson University)
MB – Desiree Cruz (Bloomfield College)
MB – Sam Mann (Thomas Jefferson University)
Third Team:
L – Humiko Stormer (Caldwell University)
S – Morgan Steck (Holy Family University)
OH – Mikayla Grimes (Chestnut Hill College)
OH – Jaizahir Marrero (Bloomfield College)
OH – Lydimar Soto (Post University)
MB – Isabella Mosquera (Holy Family University)
MB – Skylar Osenkarski (Holy Family University)
2022 Player of the Year: Jess Molen (Thomas Jefferson University)
2022 Rookie of the Year: Marissa Mullins (University of Bridgeport)
2022 Defensive Player of the Year: Elly Collins (Wilmington University)
2022 Setter of the Year: Mia Caporellie (Chestnut Hill College)
2022 Coach of the Year: Latifa Raheem (Thomas Jefferson University)
2022 Team Sportsmanship Award: Alliance University