Hawks are Volleyball Champs, Sweep Awards

One day after three Hunter College players were named 2014 Women’s Volleyball All-Stars and swept the three major individual awards, the top-seeded Hawks defeated Baruch College in a tough five-set match to claim the 2014 CUNYAC Championship and earn an automatic place in the NCAA tournament.

The Hawks defeated the Bearcats 3-2 on Friday, November 7 on their home court in a back-and-forth match to claim the program’s first title in four years. Paulina Jobcyzk closed out the fifth set with two consecutive aces, providing the team with its margin of victory.

On Thursday November 6, the CUNY Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) announced the 2014 Women's Volleyball All-Stars. The Hawks swept the three top awards, with Lucia Stosic '15 earning Player of the Year, Julia Connolly '18 taking home Rookie of the Year and coach Val Lang winning Coach of the Year. In addition,  Taylor Kordich '15 and Samantha Barrett '17 were named 2nd Team CUNYAC All-Stars.

The Hawks finished the regular season without dropping a set to a CUNYAC opponent. They also went undefeated in CUNYAC play for the first time since 2011 and completed an undefeated season at the Sportsplex for the first time since 2007. The Hawks now move on to the NCAA Tournament beginning Friday, November 14 at 3 pm at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ to face Clarkson University, winners of 14 straight matches and 34 overall victories - most in Division III.

Lucia Stosic '15

Lucia Stosic finishes her career at Hunter as a four-time CUNYAC All-Star. This year she was named CUNYAC Player of the week twice and led the conference in total blocks (154) and blocks per set (1.24). She is also nationally ranked in both those categories ranking #3 in Division III in total blocks and #7 in blocks per set.
 
"I am honored to win CUNYAC Player of the Year award," said Stosic. "I couldn't have done it without the support of my coaches, teammates and the staff at Hunter College. I share this award with them because without them I wouldn't have been able to achieve this goal."

Julia Connolly '18

Julia Connolly started her Hunter career with a bang, winning numerous weekly awards from CUNYAC and ECAC. She was named CUNYAC Rookie of the Week six times, CUNYAC Player of the Week once and ECAC Rookie of the Week once. She led CUNYAC with a .423 hitting percentage and was #3 in kills per set (2.92).
 
"It's an honor to win the CUNYAC Rookie of the Year," said Connolly. "It's always a good feeling to be recognized by experienced coaches. I would not be in this position and able to have this much success without my teammates and coaches."
 
Head coach Val Lang led the Hawks to a 21-15 record overall and 8-0 record in CUNYAC play, earning the #1 seed in the CUNYAC Tournament. Coach Lang has an overall record in her three seasons of 70-37.
 
"It's an honor to win the CUNYAC Rookie of the Year," said Connolly. "It's always a good feeling to be recognized by experienced coaches. I would not be in this position and able to have this much success without my teammates and coaches."

Taylor Kordich '15

Taylor Kordich  was named 2nd Team CUNYAC All-Star and she finishes her career as a three time CUNYAC All Star, after being named 1st Team All-Star her junior year and 2nd Team All-Star after her sophomore season. Kordich had a great season in 2014, ranking #7 in Division III in aces per set and #3 in CUNYAC in total aces and aces per set.

Samantha Barrett '17

Samantha Barrett had a great season for the Hawks earning her first CUNYAC All-Star Award by being named to the 2nd Team. Barrett led CUNYAC with a .292 hitting percentage and ranked #4 in CUNYAC in Total Blocks and blocks per set.
 
The Hawks look to claim the program's 21st CUNYAC title and first since 2010 on Friday at 6pm. The Hawks will face CCNY in the semifinals at 6pm and the winner will face the winner of Baruch vs. Lehman at 8pm in the Championship match.