FAIRFAX, Va. – The Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA)
released their end of season all-conference selections Tuesday afternoon. The list included multiple Patriot selections: three All-EIVA First Team selections, one Second Team selection, one Honorable Mention and 10 All- Academic Team members.
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
To be named to the EIVA All-Academic Team, a student must not be a freshman or first year and have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher. There is no minimum for match or set participation to be eligible.
This year's Patriot selections were the following:
All-EIVA TEAM
To be eligible to be named to an All-EIVA team, players must have played in 60 percent of the team's total sets.
Of the ten athletes selected to be on the first team, three were Patriots. Penn State and NJIT also had three selections, while Princeton had one.
GEORGI ZAHARIEV - FIRST TEAM
Senior setter
Georgi Zahariev secured his first all-team selection after a career year with the Patriots, surpassing 2,000 career assists on
April 10 April 10 and setting himself a new career-high in single game assists with 59 on
April 11. The Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, native was a two-time Offensive Player of the Week (
March 2 and
April 13) and was the conference's only AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week this year (
March 3). Zahariev led the conference in total assists (935) and was second in assists per set (9.64).
ALEXANDER LILLIE - FIRST TEAM
Sophomore middle blocker
Alexander Lillie made his second consecutive All-EIVA team, leading the Patriot defense in blocks (97). The Ronkonkoma, New York, product was a conference Offensive Player of the Week winner for the week of
March 9 and second in the conference in blocks (97) and solo blocks (17), fourth in block assists (80) and fifth in blocks per set (1.01).
AIDAN WELTIN - FIRST TEAM
Pin hitter
Aidan Weltin made his first-career all-team selection by leading the Patriot squad in kills (350), digs (158) and service aces (34). The sophomore from Lombard, Illinois, was a two-time Player of the Week selection (
Feb. 9 - Offensive and
March 23 - Defensive), led the conference in points (409) and was second in the conference in kills per set (3.76), service aces and points per set (4.40).
ROBERT EVANGELISTA - SECOND TEAM
Sophomore outside hitter
Robert Evangelista made his first all-team selection this year by being a solid offensive option for the Patriots all year. In conference only stats, the Rochester, New York, product was sixth in the conference in kills (122) and ninth in kills per set (2.84). On the team, Evangelista was second in kills (278), fourth in blocks (45) and fifth in digs (122), assists (23) and service aces (12).
JACKSON HERBERT - HONORABLE MENTION
Junior opposite hitter
Jackson Herbert made his second consecutive all-team selection this year. The Ashburn, Virginia, native was named conference Offensive Player of the Week (
March 16), was fifth in the conference in digs (134), sixth in digs per set (1.72), ninth in hitting percentage (.249) and 10th in kills (151).
