Almario, Bynon named AVCA Division III All-Americans
(Lexington, Kentucky) The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is proud to announce its 11th annual AVCA Men's Division III All-America Teams.
Springfield College and Juniata College lead the way this season, with a total of four athletes honored on the first and second teams. SUNY New Paltz, Stevens and Carthage are next in line with three All-Americans each. This is the first season each team was expanded to 14 players with AVCA All-America Honorable Mentions.
Carthage senior Connor Wexter headlines the year's recipients as the only four-time AVCA All-American after being selected to the second team in 2011 and the first team over the next three years. Rivier's Aaron Almario (Alhambra, California), Juniata's Joe Bortak, MIT's Brendan Chang, SUNY New Paltz's Tim Ferriter, Springfield's Nick Ferry, Juniata's Paul Kuhn and Springfield's Jimmy O'Leary are the other repeat All-Americans on the first team. Nazareth's Luke Lawatsch and NYU's Connor Mortland are the only members of the second team who have earned All-American honors multiple times.
There were high expectations for Almario to remain one of the best heading into the 2014 season, and he did not disappoint. He ranks in the top-10 nationally in both hitting percentage (.401) and blocks per set (1.13) while placing second on his team in kills per set (2.46).Rivier holds a No. 4 seed heading into the NCAA Tournament, and will play No. 5 Carthage on April 25th. This is Almario's third AVCA All-American honor, but his first on the first team.
Rivier senior Matt Bynon (Burnt Hills, New York) was named to the AVCA All-American Second Team. Placing second in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference with 2.56 digs per set, Bynon helped lead the Raiders to an NCAA Tournament berth where they will take on Carthage. Rivier is no stranger to playing big matches against the nation's best with five wins coming against teams currently in the top-15 of the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. Bynon earns AVCA All-American accolades for the first time.
Rivier junior Chris Markuson (Cupertino, California) was named an AVCA All-America Honorable Mention.
The selections were made by the AVCA Men's Division III Volleyball All-America Committee: chairperson Charlie Sullivan (Springfield College), Todd Hollenbeck (UC Santa Cruz), Paul Dill (MIT), John Hutton (D'Youville), Braden Zamore (Daniel Webster), Hudson Bates (Marymount), Dan Ames (Dominican), Evan Giglio (Wentworth IT), Ray Bello (Hunter), Robert Cole (NJCU), Richard Gary (Wells).