ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT senior outside hitter
Katie Hobler was named the American Volleyball Coach's Association (AVCA) Region III Player of the Year, while freshman setter
Sydney Neff was named the Freshman of the Year, announced Thursday. The duo joined senior outside hitter
Taylor Higgins on the AVCA All-Region III First Team.
Now a three-time first-team all-region honoree, Hobler was also named the Liberty League Player of the Year while landing her third-consecutive first-team all-conference nod. She currently ranks 15th nationally with 4.13 kills per set while leading the Liberty League with a .306 hitting percentage. Hobler also ranks 10th in the conference with 0.56 blocks per set. She compiled double-digit kill totals in all but three matches this fall, including a season-high 22 versus St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Semifinals (Nov. 5) as well as 21 on a .420 hitting percentage in the Tigers' 3-2 victory opposite St. John Fisher (Oct. 15). She also collected 21 kills to go with 11 digs and four blocks in RIT's 3-2 victory over Clarkson (Sept. 24).
Neff leads the Liberty League and ranks 14th nationally with 10.44 assists per set while guiding the Tigers to 12th nationally with a .250 team hitting percentage. She also ranks second in the conference with 814 total assists, including at least 30 assists in 16 of the 24 matches she appeared. Neff totaled a season-high 59 assists in the Clarkson victory and also had 52 assists along with 12 digs opposite St. John Fisher.
Higgins moved up to the first-team after also landing honorable-mention all-region in 2019. She was also recently named a Liberty League All-Star for the fourth time, following up second-team honors her first two seasons with first-team recognition in 2019 and 2021. She ranks third in the conference with 3.27 kills per set and is seventh with a .242 hitting percentage as well as eighth with 0.46 service aces per set. Totaling double-digit kills on 16 occasions, she put down a season-high 22 kills on a .400 hitting percentage in the 3-1 win at Cortland (Oct. 19). Higgins also notched 19 kills and 14 digs along with five service aces in RIT's 3-1 win over Ithaca (Oct. 13).
RIT (24-4) finished with an unbeaten 7-0 Liberty League record for the first time in program history before receiving an at-large bid to the program's 12th NCAA Division III Tournament. RIT was also selected one of the eight NCAA Regional Championships sites and is seeded first in the Rochester, N.Y. regional, to be held this Friday-Sunday (Nov. 12-14) in Clark Gymnasium. The Tigers open regional play on Friday opposite Framingham State (Mass.) at 8:00 p.m.
