Fourteen players representing 10 schools were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Division III first team All-America squad, while 14 more earned second team accolades.
Springfield College put three players on the first team, while Carthage College and Dominican University each boasted two. Springfield and Carthage ended up with five All-Americans each. Wentworth Institute of Technology managed five honors.
Springfield’s Luis Vega is the only three-time first team honoree, adding the 2017 accolade to first team honors in 2016 and 2014. Three other players garnered their third AVCA All-America honor. Springfield junior outside hitter Ricardo Padilla Ayala was a first team honoree in 2015 and earned second team accolades in 2016. Carthage senior right side Griffin Shields garnered first team accolades in 2016 and second team honors in 2015. SUNY New Paltz middle blocker Steven Woessner was a first team honoree in 2016 and earned second team honors in 2014.
One other major honor announced on Monday was the selection of NYU’s freshman outside hitter Alex Li, of Cupertino, California, as the Division III AVCA Newcomer of the Year. The announcement of Vega as the Division III Player of the Year did not come until Thursday’s banquet.
In addition to being a three-time AVCA All-American, Vega averaged 4.21 kills per set, while hitting at a .463 clip in 2017. He also added 1.57 digs and 0.48 blocks per set.
The ECAC Division III North Men’s Volleyball Co-Offensive Player of the Year posted double-digit kills in 19 matches. He is the fourth TeamSnap/AVCA National Player of the Year for Springfield, following AJ Nally (2010), Cal Palumo (2011) and Jimmy O’Leary (2014).
2017 AVCA Division III Player of the Year: Luis Vega, Springfield, Sr., OH
2017 AVCA Newcomer of the Year: Alex Li, NYU, OH
2017 AVCA MEN’S DIVISION III FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
| Player | Institution | Pos. | Yr. | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cody Bolan | Carthage College | L | Sr. | Northbrook, Ill. |
| Alex Coyne$ | Dominican University | S | Sr. | Naperville, Ill. |
| Luis Garcia Rubio* | Springfield College | S | Sr. | Bayamon, Puerto Rico |
| Matthew Knigge* | Vassar College | MB | Jr. | New Egypt, N.J. |
| Alex Li | NYU | OH | Fr. | Cupertino, Calif. |
| Lake Merchen* | UC Santa Cruz | OH | Jr. | Clovis, Calif. |
| Ricardo Padilla Ayala!^ | Springfield College | OH | Jr. | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Jake Reed | Wentworth Inst. of Technology | OH | Sr. | Arvada, Colo. |
| Griffin Shields*$ | Carthage College | RS | Sr. | Naperville, Ill. |
| Luke Spicer | Dominican University | RS | Jr. | St. Charles, Ill. |
| Steven Tarquinio | Hunter College | MB | Sr. | Smithtown, N.Y. |
| Luis Vega*# | Springfield College | OH | Sr. | Corozal, Puerto Rico |
| TJ Wiechecki | Marymount University | RS | Jr. | Wilmington, Del. |
| Steven Woessner*% | SUNY New Paltz | MB | Sr. | Massapequa Park, N.Y. |
2017 AVCA MEN’S DIVISION III SECOND-TEAM ALL-AMERICA
| Player | Institution | Pos. | Yr. | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Bonilla | SUNY New Paltz | OH | Jr. | New Paltz, N.Y. |
| Thomas Burrell | Stevens Inst. of Technology | MB | Jr. | Somerset, N.J. |
| Marc Hansen* | Carthage College | OH | Sr. | Oak Lawn, Ill. |
| Jake Howard | UC Santa Cruz | OH | Sr. | Encino, Calif. |
| Eli Irizarry Pares | Springfield College | L | So. | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Kyle Jasuta | Springfield College | MB | So. | Manhattan Beach, Calif. |
| Zechariah Lee | Vassar College | S | Jr. | Santa Clarita, Calif. |
| David Lehman | Stevens Inst. of Technology | OH | Fr. | Oakland, Calif. |
| Zach Lillig | Carthage College | MB | Jr. | Northbrook, Ill. |
| Sean Mullen | Wentworth Inst. of Technology | OH | Sr. | Longwood, Fla. |
| Alex Potts! | Wentworth Inst. of Technology | MB | Sr. | Niverville, N.Y. |
| Matt Reinsel! | Carthage College | S | So. | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Collin Ritter | Wentworth Inst. of Technology | S | Jr. | Feeding Hills, Mass. |
| Kyle Seeley! | Juniata College | MB | Sr. | Ellicott City, Md. |
* – 2016 AVCA Division III Men’s First-Team All-America selection
! – 2016 AVCA Division III Men’s Second-Team All-America selection
^ – 2015 AVCA Division III Men’s First-Team All-America selection
$ – 2015 AVCA Division III Men’s Second-Team All-America selection
# – 2014 AVCA Division III Men’s First-Team All-America selection
% – 2014 AVCA Division III Men’s Second-Team All-America selection
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