Sophomore Aleksandra Kazala was selected the Player of the Year, Vela McBride earned Rookie of the Year and Barry Goldberg was the Coach of the Year.

 

Balloting was conducted by the league's head coaches, who could not vote for members of their own program.

 

Kazala was a unanimous selection for first team All-Patriot League, and was joined on the first team by sophomore Kennedy Etheridge and junior Loren McKenzie. McBride was a second-team All-PL pick.

 

Kazala, a sophomore from Debica, Poland, led the Eagles and was second in the league with a 4.29 kills/set average. She led AU in kills in 26 of the 32 matches and had double figures in kills in 27 matches.

 

McBride, a freshman from Reston, Va., had 10 blocks against Howard early in the season and finished second on the team in blocks and third on the team in kills. She had a team-high .354 hitting percentage that was second in the PL.

 

Goldberg is in his 28th season as head coach of the Eagles and hit the 700th career victory plateau late in the year. The PL Coach of the Year honor is his seventh in the 16 years the Eagles have been in the league and his second straight.

 

Etheridge, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., led the league with a 9.85 assists per set and was the starting setter throughout the season. She had eight double-doubles this season in assists and digs.

 

McKenzie, a junior from Baldwin, N.Y., finished with 1.13 blocks per set to lead the league. She was one of only two players in the PL to average at least one block per set. She led the Eagles in blocks 25 times this season, including 13 in league matches.

 

American, the top seed for this weekend's Patriot League Tournament, plays host to Navy on Saturday in a semifinal at 1 p.m. Colgate faces Army West Point in the other semifinal at 4 p.m.

 

The PL championship match is Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

Tickets for the Patriot League Volleyball Tournament are $8 for adults and $5 for students. Students of participating schools are free with a valid student ID. Tickets can be purchased online at www.aueagles.com/tickets.