ERIE, Pa. – Five members of the Penn State Behrend women's volleyball squad were named to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) team, announced on Wednesday.
The Lions swept the individual awards beginning with senior setter Chelsea Magnusen (Plum, PA/Plum) earning Player of the Year, while Meredith Snyder (Parker, PA/Allegheny Clarion Valley) was named Co-Newcomer of the Year and head coach Phil Pisano was chosen Co-Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career.
Magnusen was also chosen to the All-AMCC first team and Snyder got a spot on the second team. Senior Tory Storino (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin), sophomore Lindsay Bean (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) and freshman Alyssa Samarco (Plum, PA/Plum) earned second-team honors.
Magnusen, the AMCC Preseason Player of the Year, was an all-around performer for Behrend this season from statistics to leadership. She leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference in assists per set (7.96), while sitting fourth in service aces (56). Magnusen is second on the team with 238 digs and fifth with 117 kills. She recorded double-digit assists and digs in 12 of 30 matches this season.
Storino repeats on the All-Conference second team. She was solid defensively with 484 digs this season, ranking her second in the AMCC in digs per set (4.61). Storino served up 32 aces this season, good enough for third on the team. She had a season-best 35 digs in the win over Wooster.
Snyder shared Newcomer of the Year honors after ranking fourth in the AMCC in hitting percentage (2.67) and eighth in kills (236). She led the team and was second in the conference with 83 blocks, recording a season-best six on two occasions. Snyder also posted 87 assists, 82 digs and 14 aces. She had double-digit kills in seven matches, including a season-high 19 in a four-set match against Wooster.
Bean and Samarco are receiving their first All-AMCC honors. Bean led the team with 250 kills and was second with 65 blocks. She tallied double-digit kills 11 times and recorded a season-best 21 kills against Grove City. Samarco, the current AMCC and Behrend Athlete of the Week, was second on the team with a .269 hitting percentage and is third in kills (210). She joins Magnusen as the only other player to record over 100 kills and digs this season. Samarco ranks second on the squad with 55 aces, serving up a season-high six on three occasions. She also posted a double-double with 11 kills and digs against Neumann and recently had a season-best 18 kills in the AMCC Championship game.
Behrend won its third AMCC Championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Lions will face top-ranked Calvin in first-round action on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
