Nov. 21, 2007

Cambridge, Mass. - The Stony Brook women's volleyball team put together a record-breaking 2007 season, setting program records for overall wins (23) and conference wins (11) and that dominance was recognized by their peers on Friday night as the Seawolves took home Player of Year, Setter of the Year and Coach of the Year in addition to placing four student-athletes on All-Conference teams.

Senior outside hitter Jackie Ahlers (Stony Point, N.Y.) received the maximum six first-place votes from the conference's head coaches (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players) to become the 2007 America East Volleyball Player of the Year. Senior Kaitlyn Deutsch (St.Louis, Mo.) was recognized as Setter of the Year and head coach of the top-seeded Seawolves, Deborah Matejka-DesLauriers earned this season's coach of the year. All awards and all-conference teams were presented at the America East Championship banquet in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. on Friday, November 16.

Ahlers is the first Seawolf to receive the player of the year since Stony Brook joined the conference. The senior played in every game of every match for the Seawolves this season, dominating opponents. Ahlers fi nished first in the conference with 5.04 kills per game and 5.58 points per game, and ended the regular season with the conference's second-best hitting percentage of .339. The transfer from St. John's also registered 23 service aces and 71 blocks in 2007, leading Stony Brook to this year's number one seed in the conference championship.

Deutsch (St. Louis, Mo./Southern Mississippi) leads the America East in total assists (1,382) and assists per game (12.23) entering the tournament this weekend. She sat out just one game all season for Stony Brook, playing in all 30 matches. Deutsch also added 2.42 digs per game, 25 service aces and more than one kill per game to her senior resume in 2007.

In her eighth year leading Stony Brook, Matejka-DesLauriers has coached the Seawolves into the America East Volleyball Championship five out of the lastsix years, this year as the top seed. This season, Matejka-DesLauriers' team leads the conference in hitting percentage, kills, assists, aces and wins.

Senior Morgan Sweany (Mission Viejo, Calif.) joined Ahlers and Deutsch on the seven member first team, earning the honor for the second straight season. The outside hitter was second in the leauge in kills (496), kills per game (4.35) and points per game (4.95) in addition to tying for first in aces per game with .46.

Junior libero Noelle Bay (Selden, N.Y.) earned a spot on the All-Conference second team after ranking second in the league in digs (495) and fourth in digs per game (4.34).

Thirteen of the all-conference first and second team honorees will be in action at Stony Brook University's campus this weekend for the 2007 America East Volleyball Championship. Number one seeded Stony Brook will square-off against the four seed Binghamton at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 17, and second-seeded New Hampshire faces third-seeded Albany at 3:30 p.m. The winners of the two semifinals will meet for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, November 18 at 1 p.m.