Women's Volleyball Earns Regular Season Title, Coaching Staff of the Year

NEW YORK — The King's College senior Samantha Klozik (Plymouth, Mich.) and sophomore Bella Rush (Elk Grove, Calif.) were named the 2021 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player and Rookie of the Year as the 2021 All-HVIAC Women's Volleyball Team was announced at the HVIAC Championship today.

A two-time Player of the Week this season, Klozik led the league in hitting percentage (.163) and was second in kills per set (2.6) and digs per set (3.72).

Rush, a two-time Rookie of the Week and one-time Player of the week, paced the conference in kills per set (2.87) and was second in hitting (.152) and service aces per set (1.28).

Guiding the Sound to their first regular-season title, Five Towns College head coach Christy Herring and assistant coach Traceé-Marie Cammarata were tabbed the 2021 Coaching Staff of the Year.

In total, six women were honored with All-HVIAC recognition for outstanding play during the regular season and there was one repeat honoree.

The HVIAC All-Conference Team, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year were selected by the conference's head women's volleyball coaches prior to the tournament.

* denotes 2019 All-HVIAC selection

Player of the Year - Samantha Klozik (The King's College)
Rookie of the Year - Bella Rush (The King's College)
Coaching Staff of the Year - Five Towns College (Head Coach Christy Herring, Assistant Coach Traceé-Marie Cammarata)

DIX HILLS, N.Y. — No. 2 seed The King's College defeated No. 1 seed and tournament host Five Towns College in four sets (24-26, 25-14, 25-17, 25-11) on Saturday afternoon to win the 2021 Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Championship

Senior outside hitter Samantha Klozik (Plymouth, Mich.) led three Lions (11-5, 1-1) turning in double-double efforts in the victory posting a match-high 18 points with 14 kills at a .300 clip with 17 digs and four aces. In post-match ceremonies, Klozik was named both Tournament MVP as well as 2021 HVIAC Player of the Year.

Also for the Lions, Junior middle Alex Kemsley (Austin, Texas) contributed a match-best 15 kills on .500 hitting while classmate Abby Roth (Temecula, Calif.) handed out 41 assists and brought up 18 digs. Sophomore Bella Rush (Elk Grove, Calif.) added an 11-kill, 13-dig double-double.

For the regular-season champion Sound (6-9, 2-0 HVIAC), all eight players to see action registered a kill led by five from senior Rosemarie Bemus. Sophomore Emely Ramos served up a match-high seven aces, with four kills and two blocks.

The top-seeded Sound rallied from being down as many as seven and facing two set points in the opening set and closed on a 6-1 run to steal set one from the Lions.

But King's rebounded from the early loss and built early leads in each of the next three sets and prevented any comeback bids. The Lions hit over .300 in sets two and four while holding the Sound to negative hitting to secure the win. 

Ranked sixth nationally by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Coaches' Poll, the Lions head to the USCAA Small College National Championship next week with an at-large bid and the tournament's No. 6 overall seed.