Four from Volleyball Selected to All-MAAC Honors

Coming off its second-straight season clinching the second seed in the MAAC Championship, the Canisius volleyball team saw four players honored by the conference Thursday evening, highlighted by senior Leah Simmons being named to the All-MAAC First Team for the second year in a row.

Simmons becomes the first Golden Griffin in program history to earn All-MAAC First Team honors in back-to-back seasons. She is also only the second Griff after Samantha Good to be named to the all-conference first team twice in her career. The senior led the Blue and Gold with 329 kills and 85 total blocks this campaign, while becoming just the 11th player in school history to reach the 1,000-kill career milestone. She also broke the Canisius single-match record for hitting percentage with a .727 clip on 18 kills in an Oct. 5 win over Saint Peter's. Additionally, Simmons enters the postseason with the sixth-most block assists (243) in school history, while sitting eighth all-time in career hitting percentage (.242). A native of Abington, Pa., Simmons finished the regular season ranking fifth in the MAAC with 3.44 points per set and ninth in the conference for both hitting percentage (.270) and kills per set (2.84).

The Griffs also saw sophomore Camila Vazquez picked as a member of the 2019 All-MAAC Second Team, the second-straight season the Tampa, Fla., product has earned all-conference honors. The unanimous 2018 MAAC All-Rookie Team selection followed up a historic debut season by once again leading the league in hitting percentage (.389), while also registering the most blocks per set (1.14) among the MAAC's leaders. Despite missing the first three weeks of the season due to injury, the sophomore has established a career-best with 76 block assists in 2019, while still pounding down 151 kills across 21 matches. The middle hitter also set single-match career-highs with 10 blocks at Siena and a .875 hitting percentage against Quinnipiac.

Earning MAAC All-Rookie Team selections were freshmen Bree Long and Ella Loussia, the second-straight year that the Blue and Gold have had two newcomers named to the league's all-rookie team.

Serving as the team's starting libero, Long tallied a team-high 521 digs and notched 116 assists, ranking her second on the squad. The Temperance, Mich., native is just the second rookie in Canisius history to rack up 500-plus digs in a season after Allyson Severyn's 554 in 2009. A two-time MAAC Libero of the Week, Long added on 17 aces and six kills over the course of the campaign. She finished the regular season with 4.53 digs per set, placing fifth on the conference leaderboard.

Loussia came on late to end the regular season with the third-most kills on the Griffs (198), including 31 kills in the final weekend that earned her MAAC Rookie of the Week honors. On top of her 198 kills, the native from West Bloomfield, Mich., tacked on 74 digs, 43 block assists and 14 aces during her rookie campaign on Main Street. With two more kills, Loussia would become the fourth Canisius rookie in the last three seasons to reach the 200-kill benchmark.

The 2019 MAAC All-Academic Team was also announced, with five Griffs being named this to the squad. Senior Cassidy Ceriani was honored for the third-straight season, while sophomores Ashley Kekeisen, Hannah Nelson, Joli Ruby and Melina Woods were all named to the conference's all-academic team for the first time.

Canisius has earned a bye into the semifinal round of the MAAC Championship by virtue of being the No. 2 seed. The Blue and Gold will play Saturday at 5 p.m., as they will face the winner of Friday's match between Rider and Quinnipiac.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Cassidy Ceriani: S; 5' 11"; Senior

#6 Ashley Kekeisen: S; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#14 Hannah Nelson: OH; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#0 Joli Ruby: L/DS; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#13 Leah Simmons: MH; 6' 1"; Senior

#8 Camila Vazquez: MH; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#1 Melina Woods: RS; 6' 0"; Sophomore

#4 Bree Long: L; 5' 5"; Freshman

#2 Ella Loussia: OH; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Cassidy Ceriani
: 5' 11"; Senior
: S

#6 Ashley Kekeisen
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: S

#14 Hannah Nelson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: OH

#0 Joli Ruby
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: L/DS

#13 Leah Simmons
: 6' 1"; Senior
: MH

#8 Camila Vazquez
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: MH

#1 Melina Woods
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: RS

#4 Bree Long
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: L

#2 Ella Loussia
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: OH