NEWTON, Mass. – The top player on the Lasell University women's volleyball team was recognized by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) on Tuesday for her outstanding performance during the 2019 campaign.
Sophomore Kiana Perez Diaz (Juncos, Puerto Rico/Notre Dame) was named to the All-GNAC Women's Volleyball Second Team. Perez Diaz was also an All-Conference Second Team selection last year as well as being voted the GNAC Rookie of the Year. The All-Conference Teams are selected by a vote of the GNAC's 13 head coaches.
Sophomore Meg Roberts (Newington, Conn.) was also named as Lasell's representative on the GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
A 5-9 outside hitter, Perez Diaz led the conference with 404 total kills and finished second with 3.71 kills per set. She recorded 71 service aces and 0.65 aces per set to lead the conference and rank ninth nationally in the NCAA for Division III, and she also topped the GNAC among non-libero players with 399 digs and 3.66 digs per set. Perez Diaz posted 13 double-doubles this season, reaching double figures in both kills and digs in a match 13 times.
A two-year starter, Perez Diaz has already climbed into the top 10 on Lasell's career records list in several categories. Her 404 kills and 1,181 attack attempts this season rank third most in program history, and her 71 aces is ninth-best all-time. She also ranks eighth in program history with 731 career kills and ninth with 120 service aces.
Lasell finished the season with a 9-23 overall record under second-year head coach Dana Jones, finishing tied for seventh in the GNAC with a 5-7 mark. The eighth-seeded Lasers were knocked from the GNAC Tournament by top-seeded and eventual champion Johnson & Wales University.
2019 All-GNAC Women's Volleyball Team
First Team
Maria Coniglio, Johnson & Wales
Brylee Frank, Johnson & Wales
Elyssa Nicolas, Johnson & Wales
Kate Walker, Johnson & Wales
Taylor Dunster, Rivier
Jess Whyte, Rivier
Morgan Weeg, Simmons
Second Team
Hannah Dolan, Johnson & Wales
Kiana Perez Diaz, Lasell
Kathryn Farnum, Norwich
Avery Pollard, Rivier
Amanda Fortune, Simmons
Faith Gray-Williams, Simmons
Morgan Lauvray, Simmons
Third Team
Naarah Cox, Colby-Sawyer
Morgan Flynn, Colby-Sawyer
Katryna Veasey, Regis
Sydney Racevicius, Rivier
Sydney Iannantuono, Simmons
Hannah Fabiano, Suffolk
Harmony Johnson, Suffolk
GNAC Player of the Year – Kate Walker, Johnson & Wales
GNAC Libero of the Year – Elyssa Nicolas, Johnson & Wales
GNAC Rookie of the Year – Sydney Iannantuono, Simmons
GNAC Coach of the Year – Scott Grandpre, Simmons
GNAC Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Saint Joseph's College of Maine
2019 GNAC All-Sportsmanship Team
Ashley David, Albertus Magnus
Taylor Hoffstedt, Anna Maria
Olivia Goodrich, Colby-Sawyer
Tenzin Dotsang, Emmanuel
Kelly Delaney, Johnson & Wales
Meg Roberts, Lasell
Sarah Farnum, Norwich
Caiti Pope, Regis
Joy Maswoswe, Rivier
Nina Nevarez, Saint Joseph (Conn.)
Nicole Baron, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Grace Pontius, Simmons
Sarah Mullahy, Suffolk
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