NATION’S BEST: LaBouliere Named AVCA Division III Player of the Year

BOSTON, Mass. – For the first time in Wentworth Institute of Technology Athletics history, a student-athlete has been named a national player of the year in their respective sport. Men's volleyball senior outside hitter Jacob LaBouliere (Pipersville, Pa.) earned that distinction as he was named the 2024 AVCA Division III Player of the Year. LaBouliere's honor was announced Thursday night (April 25) by the AVCA in conjunction with the association's awards ceremony, held at the site of this year's national championship; Loras College.

This season, LaBouliere was named an AVCA First Team All-American after being named AVCA Region I Player of the Year. He rocked a 4.30 kills per set rate to go along with a .432 hitting percentage which ranked first in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and sixth across the Division III landscape. LaBouliere also had 115 digs, 47 blocks, and 29 service aces this season, and became the fourth student-athlete to surpass the 1,000 career kills milestone back on February 15. Additionally, LaBouliere was named the GNAC's Offensive Player of the Year, FrogJump Volleyball's Outside Hitter of the Year, the Most Outstanding Player of the GNAC Tournament, and a GNAC First Team All-Conference selection.

LaBouliere's 2024 accolades amplify an impressive list career-wide that makes him one of the Black & Gold's most accomplished student-athletes of all-time: a two-time First Team AVCA All-American (2022, 2024), the AVCA Region I Player of the Year (2024), a two-time AVCA All-Region honoree (2022, 2024), a three-time GNAC Offensive Player of the Year (2022-2024), a three-time All-GNAC First Team honoree (2022-2024), a three-time GNAC Champion (2022-24), a three-time GNAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2022-24), a two-time FrogJump Volleyball Outside Hitter of the Year (2023-2024), and a five-time AVCA Division III Player of the Week (twice in 2022, once in 2023, twice in 2024).

In addition, LaBouliere currently sits first all-time in program history in hitting percentage (.414) and kills per set (4.17) and placed himself third all-time in kills late in the 2024 season, sporting a total of 1,235.

"Jacob LaBouliere's impact on Wentworth volleyball is impossible to measure even with all the awards he's accumulated, of which there are numerous," said head coach Evin Giglio. "In a player-led culture, Jacob's leadership, work ethic and attitude are unrivaled. While he is an imposing presence physically, he's defining characteristic is truly his quality of character."

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