EDISON, NJ (Nov. 16, 2023) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) today revealed the 2023 Volleyball Major Award winners and All-MAAC Teams, voted on by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Headlining volleyball postseason major award winners was 2023 MAAC Player of the Year, Sasha van der Merwe of Marist College. A senior outside hitter from Ontario, Canada, van der Merwe played in 111 sets during the regular season, compiling 487.0 points, 430 kills, 1,190 total attacks, 260 digs, and 57.0 blocks. She was the MAAC leader and ranked top-20 nationally in total attacks (11
th), total kills (17
th), and points (19
th). Van der Merwe also paced the conference with 4.39 points per set, while ranking second in both kills per set (3.87) and attacks per set (10.72). She owned the MAAC single-match high in total kills this season, going for a league-most 29 kills against UT Martin on August 25, while also posting the most kills in a three-set match during the season, posting 21 kills against Siena on November 11. Named as the Preseason Player of the Year back in August, van der Merwe was a three-time MAAC Player of the Week in 2023, winning the award on August 29, October 3, and November 7.
For the second straight year, Iona University’s Hope Matschner was voted as the MAAC Libero of the Year. The nation’s leader in digs, Matschner finished the regular season with NCAA highs of 688 total digs and 6.43 digs per set. Her digs total was 50 more than the second ranked player in the country and she was one of just two players in the nation to average above 6.00 digs per set. This was also the second consecutive season that Matschner led the NCAA in both categories. A native of Winter Springs, FL, she recorded the top-five MAAC individual game-highs in digs during 2023, highlighted by a 51 dig performance on September 24 at Canisius which was also the most by any player in a NCAA Division I match this season. For her career, Matschner has 2,021 career digs, which ranks 11
th on the active NCAA leaderboard. Moreover, she was named MAAC Libero of the Week eight times this season, which led the league.
The 2023 MAAC Setter of the Year honoree was Damla Gunes from Quinnipiac University. The sophomore from Bursa, Turkey was the MAAC leader in assists, compiling 981 total assists on the season. She appeared in 97 sets and averaged 10.11 assists per set, which was good for second on the conference leaderboard. Gunes also recorded stat lines of 231 digs, 75.0 points, 33 service aces, 32.0 blocks and 24 kills during the year. Lastly, she took home the MAAC Player of the Week award on October 31.
Freshman outside hitter Mikalah Curran of Manhattan College was selected as the MAAC Rookie of the Year. Curran finished her first season in Riverdale with 276 kills, 28 service aces, and 18 blocks for a total of 314.0 points. Her total kills ranked sixth on the MAAC charts while her total points were the fifth-most among league scorers. The Commack, NY native averaged 2.94 kills per set and 3.34 points per set, which ranked ninth and 10
th in the MAAC this season, respectively. Curran was a two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week award winner in 2023, claiming the awards on October 10 and 24.
Manhattan College head coach Mauro Miletic was chosen as 2023 MAAC Coach of the Year by his peers. In his second season as the head coach of the Jaspers, he led a Manhattan squad that won one match last season and was picked tied for last place in the preseason poll, to nine overall wins and six conference wins. Manhattan’s MAAC win total and overall win total were both the most by the program since 2016.
The full list of All-MAAC Teams and major awards winners are below.
| 2023 Volleyball Major Awards |
| Awards |
Player |
School |
| Player of the Year |
Sasha van der Merwe |
Marist |
| Libero of the Year |
Hope Matschner |
Iona |
| Setter of the Year |
Damla Gunes |
Quinnipiac |
| Rookie of the Year |
Mikalah Curran |
Manhattan |
| Coach of the Year |
Mauro Miletic |
Manhattan |
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Allie Elliott |
So. |
Outside Hitter |
Fairfield |
| Mikayla Haut |
Jr. |
Outside Hitter |
Fairfield |
| Hope Matschner |
Sr. |
Libero |
Iona |
| Sasha van der Merwe |
Sr. |
Outside Hitter |
Marist |
| Jordan Newblatt |
Sr. |
Outside Hitter |
Marist |
| Ginevra Giovagnoni |
So. |
Outside Hitter |
Quinnipiac |
| Damla Gunes |
So. |
Setter |
Quinnipiac |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Blakely Montgomery |
Jr. |
Setter |
Fairfield |
| Maya Walker |
So. |
Middle Blocker |
Fairfield |
| Mackenzie Wiggins |
So. |
Outside Hitter |
Iona |
| Maike Bertens |
Jr. |
Outside Hitter |
Manhattan |
| Laryssa Imbuzeiro |
Jr. |
Middle Blocker |
Niagara |
| Aryanah Diaz |
Gr. |
Outside Hitter |
Quinnipiac |
| Kiannisha Santiago |
So. |
Outside Hitter |
Rider |
| MAAC All-Rookie Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Mamie Krubally |
Fr. |
Right Side |
Fairfield |
| Ezzie Thompson |
Fr. |
Middle Blocker |
Iona |
| Mikalah Curran |
Fr. |
Outside Hitter |
Manhattan |
| Janiah Robinson |
Fr. |
Middle Blocker |
Niagara |
| Leilani-kai Giusta |
1Y. |
Outside Hitter |
Quinnipiac |
| Paige Giehtbrock |
Fr. |
Outside Hitter |
Rider |
| Molly Rohde |
Fr. |
Middle Hitter |
Rider |
The 2023 MAAC Volleyball Championship is a six-team, single-elimination championship taking place November 17-19, 2023 at Leo D. Mahoney Arena in Fairfield, CT. Fairfield University will serve as host of the three-day championship with the opening round on Friday, November 17, the semifinals on Saturday, November 18, and the championship match on Sunday, November 19. For all information regarding the 2023 MAAC Volleyball Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/vb.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 43rd year of competition during the 2023-24 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan College, Marist College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. Merrimack College and Sacred Heart University will join the MAAC as full members in the 2024-25 academic year, expanding the conference to 13 institutions.
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