WINTHROP, Mass. – Eight members of the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's volleyball team earned Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) yearly awards, as announced by the conference Monday.
Three Leopards picked up first-team all-conference awards, as sophomore Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.), senior Connor Adams (Budd Lake, N.J.), and senior Phoenix Stebbins (Harrisburg, Pa.) won three of the seven first-team awards. LaBouliere was also named Offensive Player of the Year, while Stebbins won Defensive Player of the Year in the conference.
On the year, LaBouliere had 391 kills, breaking the all-time program record of 375, while hitting .439 and averaging 4.20 kills per set. He added 26 service aces and 136 digs, while totaling 40 blocks on the year. Adams totaled 869 assists this season, good for 10th in Wentworth single-season history. The senior also put down 44 service aces, which is eighth on the all-time list in a season. He added 120 digs, 43 blocks, averaged 9.45 assists per set. Stebbins led the Leopards with 183 digs this season, while adding 27 assists as well.
Junior Hunter Oshman (Pennington, N.J.) was named to the all-conference second-team while junior Colin Stockton (Hummelstown, Pa.) and graduate student David Marsh (Springfield, Mass.) picked up third-team all-conference honors. Oshman, who won GNAC Rookie of the Year and was first-team all-conference in 2020, finished his junior year with 236 kills, good for second on the team. He also had 34 aces, 93 digs, 34 blocks and hit .339 on the season. Stockton had the best numbers of his career this season, finishing with 94 kills while hitting .393, and had 28 service aces, 20 digs, and 69 blocks.
Marsh had a career-high 87 kills on the season, while also leading the team with 74 blocks. He added 14 digs, five aces, and hit .320 on the season as well. Freshman Dylan Burritt (Newbury Park, Calif.) won the All-Sportsmanship award for Wentworth. In his rookie year, Burritt played in nine matches for the Leopards, hitting .375 while picking up 13 kills, 17 blocks, three assists and two aces.
Wentworth head coach Evin Giglio was named GNAC Coach of the Year for the third time. This is Giglio's 11th season leading the men's volleyball program, and is the program's all-time leader in wins and win percentage. He has totaled a 223-94 record in his 11 years, while amassing a .703 winning percentage. The Leopards have made the GNAC Tournament every year under Giglio, and this is the fourth time Wentworth is advancing to the NCAA Tournament under him.
The Leopards' first-round NCAA Tournament match takes place Friday, April 15 at 6:30 p.m., as Wentworth takes on St. John Fisher College in Newark, N.J.
For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Wentworth Leopards "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
