Trinity Volleyball Trio Takes Post-Season Honors
Hartford, Conn., Dec. 29, 2011 – Trinity College sophomore OH Hannah Brickley (Melrose, Mass.) was selected to the 2011 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III All-New England Region First Team and the New England Women's Volleyball Associatio (NEWVA) All-New England Third Team, while Brickley and senior L Sarah Blagden (Charleston, S.C.) each received 2011 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) post-season honors. Blagden was selected as the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year and to the All-NESCAC Second Team, while Brickley graced the All-NESCAC First Team. Blagden was also chosen to play with Bantam senior co-captain S Jen Low (San Francisco, Calif.) in the NEWVA Senior Classic at the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Sunday, December 4. New England's top 33 volleyball seniors were invited to compete in the game and earned the distinction of NEWVA All-New England Seniors.
Trinity, coached by Jen Bowman (8th Season), finished the 2011 season with a 19-9 overall record and tied Amherst and Connecticut College for fourth place in the NESCAC with a 6-4 mark in the league. Trinity qualified for its sixth NESCAC Championship Tournament in the last seven years, earning a top-four seed for the first time since 2005, and defeated No. 5-seeded Amherst, 3-1, at Bowdoin in the quarterfinal round. The Bantams lost at eventual champion Bowdoin, 3-1, in the NESCAC Semifinals.
Brickley played in 26 matches and 95 sets this fall, leading the squad with 399 kills (4.20 per set, 2nd in NESCAC, 13th in nation), 1,175 kill attempts, and kill percentage (.218). Brickley was ranked third on the squad in digs with 295 to go with 26 service ace and 30 blocks. She was named as the NESCAC Player of the Week once this season. Trinity's representative on the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team as a rookie in 2010 and a NESCAC All-Academic honoree this fall, Brickley is the first Bantam to earn AVCA All-New England First Team honors. A graduate of Melrose High School, she is the daughter of Cindy and George Brickley.
Blagden played in all 28 matches and all 103 sets this fall, setting a new College record for digs with 597 (2nd in NESCAC, 25th in naton) and finishing second in aces with 43. In her fine career that included one year as an outside hitter in 2009, Blagden had 168 kills and 665 attacks for a .138 hitting percentage, 124 aces, and a College-record 1,794 digs in 99 matches and 351 sets. A two-time NESCAC All-Academic honoree and Trinity's representative on the NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team in 2009, Blagden is a graduate of Taft School. She is the daughter of Lynn and Tom Blagden.
Low also played in all 28 matches and all 103 sets this fall, totaling a team-high 984 assists (3rd in NESCAC), 42 kills, a .240 kill percentage, 24 aces, 265 digs, and 14 blocks. A four-year starter at setter, Low amassed 42 kills and 121 attacks for a .235 hitting percentage, 3,074 assists (3rd all-time at Trinity), 107 aces, 813 digs, and 37 blocks in 99 matches and 350 sets in her impressive Bantam career. A graduate of University High School, she is the daughter of Doreen and Larry Low.
NEWVA All-New England information
NEWVA Senior All-Star Game information