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South Easton, Mass. – The University of New Haven’s Rhe-Ann Niles (St. Thomas, Barbados) was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Volleyball Player of the Year as voted by the conference’s 15 head coaches.

Niles helped lead New Haven to their first-ever Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship. In their inaugural season in the Northeast-10, the Chargers finished conference play a perfect 14-0 to earn the top seed in the Northeast-10 Championship. Niles currently leads the conference in hitting percentage at .484, which is second best in Division II. She is also ranked second in the NE-10 in blocks averaging 1.17 per set and is third in kills with 321 (3.34 per set). Niles is ranked 17th nationally in blocks. In addition, she was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team.

The postseason accolades continued for New Haven as senior Yael Rosner (Haifa, Israel) was voted the 2008 Northeast-10 Setter of the Year. Rosner leads the conference in assists as she is currently averaging 10.27 per set and is fourth in hitting percentage (.327). She is ranked 36th among the Division II leaders in assists. Rosner was also named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team.

Bentley University junior Cassie Kraft (New Braunfels, Texas) was selected the 2008 Northeast-10 Setter of the Year. Kraft helped lead Bentley to its 28th straight appearance in the NE-10 championship. She currently is ranked third in the conference in digs per game averaging 4.35 per set. In addition, Kraft was named to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team for the second straight season.

American International College outside hitter Ellisha Terry (Fort Worth, Texas) was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year. Terry helped lead the Yellow Jackets to their first Northeast-10 Championship appearance since 2003. She is currently ranked seventh in the NE-10 in kills per set with 2.95 and has a hitting percentage of .228. Terry is also averaging 2.86 digs per set and has recorded 26 total blocks thus far. In addition, she was named to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team and the All-Rookie Team.

Merrimack College head coach Joey Pacis was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Coach of the Year for the second-straight season. Pacis guided the Warriors to their second-straight appearance in the NE-10 Championship. Merrimack entered the championship as the second seed after finishing conference play with a 13-1 record. The Warriors are currently 19-8 overall.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

- NE-10 –

2008 Northeast-10 Conference
Volleyball All-Conference Teams

First Team
Molly Cindric, Merrimack
Charisse Cotton, New Haven
Rhe-Ann Niles, New Haven
Tori Piskulick, Bentley
Yael Rosner, New Haven
Alex Kearney, Bentley
Ale Kuncaitis, Merrimack

Second Team
Nicole Buchholz, Franklin Pierce
Elizabeth Cheek, Le Moyne
Cassie Kraft, Bentley
Elsa LeGrand, UMass Lowell
Elyse Lorenz, Merrimack
Emily Schultz, Franklin Pierce
Ellisha Terry, American Int’l

Third Team
Danielle Furka, Pace
Jillian Hadder, UMass Lowell
Karissa Hookstadt, Franklin Pierce
Kristine Mickelson, Bentley
Alyssa Pickert, Merrimack
Jenna Tammel, So. Connecticut
Michelle Thornhill, Stonehill

All-Rookie Team
Ellisha Terry, American Int’l
Virginia Wong, Bentley
Elizabeth Akinbiyi,New Haven
Shea Hansen, Pace
Leah Filonuk,So. Connecticut
Danielle Coffey, So. New Hampshire
Michelle Thornhill,Stonehill