2008 NORTH EAST COLLEGIATE VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION WEEKLY HONORS   WEEK 4: February 11, 2008
CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK	CONFERENCE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
FRANK LEAHY • Nazareth College JR • S • Smithtown, NY/Smithtown	MATTHEW TALAMANTES • Newbury College FR • S  • Sylmar, CA/Viewpoint
Frank Leahy is the NECVA Conference Player of the Week after he was named Most Valuable Player of the Nazareth Invitational, as he helped guide the Golden Flyers to victories over #1 ranked UC-Santa Cruz and #2 Springfield College on February 9 to win the tournament championship. He also was selected as the Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week. He is the second Nazareth player to win the AVCA and NECVA top honors this season. In a 5-0 week for the Flyers, he averaged 12.63 assists, 1.13 points, 1.19 digs and 0.88 blocks per game. In a sweep of Medaille College on February 5, the 6-foot-0 setter delivered 32 assists. He had 28 assists and five blocks in three games in a 3-1 win over SUNY New Paltz in pool play of the Nazareth Invitational on February 8 and 48 assists and three stuffs later that in a sweep of Eastern Mennonite. In the tournament semifinals on February 9, he distributed 50 assists, seven digs and two blocks in a 3-1 upset of #1 UCSC. In the championship match against Springfield, he delivered 44 assists and four blocks as Naz won in a sweep. His 11.27 assists average this season is #9 in the conference.	Matthew Talamantes, a two-time New England Rookie of the Week, is the NECVA Conference Rookie of the Week after leading the Nighthawks to back-to-back championships at the Gothic Knight Invitational. The All-Tournament Team performer averaged 12.00 assists, 2.26 digs, 1.42 kills, 0.42 blocks and 0.37 aces per game. He had double-doubles in consecutive matches as Newbury defeated Lasell, 3-0 (46 assists, 10 digs, four kills) and fell at #5 Stevens (38 assists, 10 digs, eight kills). In a 3-1 win over #10 Medaille at the GKI, he delivered 53 assists, seven kills, a .500 hitting percentage (7-1-12), and three blocks. He added 31 assists in a 3-0 tournament win over Elms and 28 assists in two games in the finals against NJCU. He closed the week with 32 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 loss to Johnson & Wales (CO). Talamantes is fourth in the league in assists at 12.23 per game.
CUNYAC DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK	CUNYAC DIVISION ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
ZACARIAS RIPOLL • Hunter College SO • S • Puerto Plata, Dominica Republic/JFK	CHRISTOPHER AVILES • City College of New York FR • OPP • Brooklyn, NY/Fort Hamilton
Zacarias Ripoll earns CUNYAC Player of the Week honors as he averaged 9.18 assists, 2.09 kills and 0.45 aces per game last week for in a 2-1 week for the Hawks. The 5-foot-8 setter contributed to 37 kills in a three-game victory over Lehman, while adding six kills and two aces to the cause. He registered a near triple-double with 38 assists, 10 kills and nine digs to go with two solo blocks in a narrow five-game loss to #12 Ramapo College. Ripoll then led Hunter to a three-game sweep over City Tech, dishing out 38 assists, putting down seven kills on 16 error-free attempts (.438) while notching 10 digs. Ripoll ranks 11th in the conference with 11.08 assists per game.	Christopher Aviles is the CUNYAC Rookie of the Week after he notched three double-doubles in a four-match week for the Beavers, who went 2-2 against NECVA competition and 2-1 in CUNYAC play. The 6-foot-1 opposite put down 16 kills (.444) in a three-game loss to Baruch, before adding 19 kills (.239), four blocks (one solo) and 11 digs in a 3-2 loss to visiting NJCU. Aviles picked up double-doubles in a pair of CUNYAC wins on February 9, putting down 11 kills with 10 digs in a four-game match against York and 10 kills (.318) to go with 11 digs against Brooklyn.
METRO DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK	METRO DIVISION ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
JOHN KESSENICH • Vassar College JR • S/OH • Chicago, IL/Richard Montgomery	JUSTIN BEAUMONT • New Jersey City U. FR • S • Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne
John Kessenich is the second different Vassar player to be named Metro Player of the Week and marks the third time in the first four weeks that this honor has gone to a Brewer. A Nazareth Invitational All-Tournament Team pick, Kessenich had the most productive five-match stretch of his career, including an earlier week match against NYU on February 4 in which he set a new career high with 58 assists in a 3-1 loss. In a 2-3 week for the Brewers—with losses only coming to the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 ranked teams in the AVCA/CSTV Poll—Kessenich accounted for 237 assists, an average of 12.47 a game. He contributed 30 total digs (1.58) and 0.63 blocks. The Brewers opened play with a 3-0 win over No. 8 D'Youville, as he had 45 assists and three blocks, reaching 1,500 helpers for his career, and they avenged an early season loss to then No. 2 Carthage (now No. 7), winning 3-1, as he had 48 assists, 11 digs and three blocks. He had a double-double of 46 assists, 10 digs and five kills in a 3-1 loss to Springfield. Kessenich is currently ranked third in the NECVA in assists (12.89).	Justin Beaumont is the second NJCU freshman to be named Metro Division Rookie of the Week in as many weeks as the Gothic Knights—who have four newcomers in their starting rotation—went 4-1 week last week. He averaged 11.06 assists, 1.61 digs and 0.39 aces per game for NJCU (7-4). Beaumont set a career-high with 63 assists, along with seven digs, two aces and two blocks in NJCU's 3-2 road win over CCNY on February 7. He had 57 assists, seven digs and two blocks in NJCU's 3-2 win over Villa Julie in the Gothic Knight Invitational opening match on February 9. He had 14 assists and three aces in one game against Southern Vermont in pool play at the event, as NJCU ran its winning streak to six matches. Beaumont dished 25 assists and five digs in a loss to Newbury in the GKI title match. In the first match of the week on February 5, he had 40 assists, nine digs and seven kills in a 3-1 win over SUNY Purchase. The 5-foot-5 setter is 18th in the conference in assists (9.69 per game) despite splitting time at setter and outside hitter.
NEW ENGLAND DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK	NEW ENGLAND DIVISION ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
PRAVEEN PAMIDIMUKKALA • MIT SR • OH • Edison, NJ/JP Stevens	MATTHEW TALAMANTES • Newbury College FR • S  • Sylmar, CA/Viewpoint
Praveen Pamidimukkala, the 2007 NECVA Conference Player of the Year, earns NECVA New England Player of the Week honors after leading the Engineers to a 5-1 record and a runner-up performance at the MIT Invitational. The All-Tournament Team selection averaged 5.55 points, 4.95 kills, 1.58 digs, 0.42 blocks and 0.32 aces per game while hitting .327. In a 3-2 win over Endicott on February 5, he smashed 28 kills (28-11-56, .304) with eight digs and four blocks. He had 11 kills and nine digs in a sweep of Wentworth on February 7. In pool play at the MIT Invitational, he had seven kills (.455) in two games against Mount Ida and 13 kills in matches against New Haven and Mount Saint Vincent, sweep all three opponents; he played two games against CMSV, hitting .423. In the championship match against Ramapo, he reeled off 22 kills and hit .319 (22-7-47), in a 3-1 loss. He is eight in the conference in kills (4.63 per game) and seven in points (5.45).	Matthew Talamantes is the New England Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. For more information on his accomplishments, see NECVA Conference Rookie of the Week.
WESTERN DIVISION PLAYER OF THE WEEK	WESTERN DIVISION ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
FRANK LEAHY • Nazareth College JR • S • Smithtown, NY/Smithtown	RYAN MAXWELL • Medaille College FR • S/DS • Amherst, NY/Sweet Home
Frank Leahy is the Western Division Player of the Week. For more on his accomplishments, see NECVA Conference Player of the Week.	Ryan Maxwell is the Western Division Rookie of the Week after contributing to a 3-2 week for the Mavericks. He was largely used as a backrow substitution in a 3-1 road win at Philadelphia Biblical on February 8, a 3-2 win against Elms College at the Gothic Knight Invitational, and a 3-1 loss to Newbury at the tournament on February 9, collecting 14 digs in that role. But in the third place match of the NJCU Tournament, he was the primary setter in a collegiate match for the first time, dishing 34 assists with five blocks and five digs in a 3-0 win over Villa Julie College. The 6-foot-1 utility player also had three kills on February 5 in a 3-0 loss to Nazareth.