ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT sophomore outside hitter Liv Benard was voted an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III All-Region 3 First-Team selection, while junior setter Sydney Neff garnered honorable-mention recognition, announced Thursday.

Benard was also named an All-Liberty League first-teamer earlier this week after leading the conference with 434 kills (next closest was 296). She is also ranked second in the league with 3.65 kills per set and 10th with a .212 hitting percentage. She logged 10 double-doubles during the season, including 14 kills and 11 digs in the Liberty League Tournament Quarterfinal win over Vassar (Nov. 1) and registered double-digit kills on 23 occasions. Benard totaled career-highs of 28 kills and 20 digs in the 3-2 win at Skidmore (Oct. 28) a week after notching 25 kills and 10 digs in a four-set victory over visiting Union (Oct. 21).

Neff followed up first-team all-region accolades a season ago with her second AVCA honor this fall. Also named First-Team All-Liberty League for the second-straight season, she led the conference with 976 assists (next closest was 853) and was second with 9.21 assists per set. She compiled at least 30 assists on 18 occasions, along with eight matches with better than 40, including a season-high 56 assists to go along with 12 digs in the Skidmore win. Neff also finished 10th in the conference with 0.45 service aces per set.

RIT finished the season with a 16-17 record, including a 5-3 Liberty League mark during the regular season. Seeded fourth for the conference tournament, the Tigers qualified for their fourth-consecutive Liberty League Semifinal appearance with the quarterfinal win over Vassar before falling to eventual champion Ithaca.