Almario named AVCA All American

(Lexington, KY) The American Volleyball Coaches Association released their 9th annual Division III All Americans back on April 23rd and Rivier College sophomore Aaron Almario was tabbed as a 2nd Team All American.

The native of Alhambria, California helped lead the Raiders to their 5th straight Great Northeast Athletic Championship with a perfect 14-0 record in conference play. The team fished nationally in the Top 15 and was given the 7th seed in the first ever Division III Men's Volleyball Championships.

Here is the excerpt on Almario from the official release: "Aaron Almario, a 6-7 middle hitter for Rivier College, is a sophomore from Alhambra, Calif. He ranks nationally in blocks per set, hitting percentage and kills per set on his way to being named First-Team All-GNAC. He is a two- time GNAC Player of the Week and is currently No. 1 in the GNAC for hitting percentage and blocks/set. Almaro is a first time AVCA All-American. "

Almario finished the 2012 campaign with 267 kills (3.03 kills per set average) and a .364 hitting percentage. He was also dominate along the net as he recorded 90 total blocks – a 1.02 blocks per set average – including 26 block solos.

With the selection, Almario becomes just the fourth Raider in the 16 year history of the program to be named an AVCA All America. He joins Andy Chace '06, Matt Ferreira '10 and Jared Andreozzi '11 in the elite class. Chace was a three time recipient while both Ferreira and Andreozzi were selected twice.

For a complete list of the All-American Selections, please visit: http://www.avca.org/articles/index.cfm?action=view&articleID=3706 .