LATROBE, Pa. (Nov. 8) – Four members of the Saint Vincent College women's volleyball team have earned All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) honors for the 2022 season.
Per a ballot of the league's head coaches, senior setter/outside hitter
Carly Augustine (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) was named First Team All-PAC, junior outside hitter
Luciana Polk (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) earned Second Team All-PAC honors; and sophomore setter/outside hitter
Vivian Poach (Washington, Pa./Trinity) and freshman middle hitter
Lauren Fox (Hinckley, Ohio/Highland) each earned Honorable Mention All-PAC honors. Additionally, senior middle hitter
Lindsey Kocjancic (Johnsonburg, Pa./Johnsonburg) was selected to the conference's Sportsmanship Team.
Splitting time between setter and outside hitter, Augustine averaged 2.26 kills, 4.41 assists and 3.35 digs per set, while also totaling 29 blocks and a team-high 30 service aces. The versatile team co-captain ranked among Division III leaders with six triple-doubles on the season, while she recorded at least 10 kills in eight different matches, 10 digs in 14 different matches and 15-plus assists 13 times. Her highest kill output of the season came in SVC's win over Washington & Jefferson on Oct. 11, when she put down 18. She reached a season-high with 33 digs in the Bearcats' 3-1 victory over Geneva on Oct. 29, while she posted a season-high 30 assists against Thiel on Oct. 27. Augustine is now a four-time All-PAC honoree, after earning Second Team honors in 2021, Honorable Mention plaudits following the 2020-21 spring campaign and Second Team accolades as a freshman in 2019.
Polk was also a valuable two-way player for the Bearcats, averaging 2.50 kills and 4.95 digs, along with a total of 28 blocks and 15 aces. She notched 10 or more kills in 12 different matches and eclipsed the 15-kill mark four times, highlighted by an 18-kill effort in a win over Shenandoah (Sept. 3) and a 16-kill performance in SVC's Oct. 29 victory over Geneva. Polk was also a top defender for Saint Vincent, topping 20 digs in 10 different matches, including a career-high 36 in the Geneva victory. This marks Polk's second career All-PAC honor, after being named Honorable Mention in 2021.
Poach averaged 4.30 assists and 3.52 digs, while also totaling 78 kills and 27 service aces. She racked up five or more kills in eight different matches, while she tallied 19 assist-kill double-doubles. She posted a season-best eight kills in SVC's win over Medaille on Sept. 10, while she recorded a season-best 27 kills in SVC'w win over Chatham on Oct. 19. Her top defensive effort came in the Geneva victory on Oct. 29, when she posted 24 digs. This is Poach's first career All-PAC honor.
Fox had a solid debut season at middle hitter for the Bearcats, evolving into one of the top blocking hitters in the PAC. She led Saint Vincent, and ranked sixth in the PAC, with an average of 0.89 blocks per set (totaling 64), while she also averaged 1.04 kills per set. Fox had at least one block in 19 different matches, including five matches with more than five blocks, highlighted by a 9-block effort in SVC's win at Franciscan on Oct. 25, and an 8-block performance in a win over Westminster on Oct. 1. Fox also recorded at least five kills seven times, with a career-high eight on Oct. 27 against Thiel.
A full-time starter at middle hitter, Kocjancic averaged 1.57 kills per set and ranked among team leaders with a .198 hitting percentage, while she also added 38 blocks and 15 service aces. She was a model of consistency, recording at least two blocks in 14 different matches and at least five kills 16 times. Her top effort of the season came in SVC's win over defending PAC champion Westminster, when she posted a 12-kill, 10-dig double-double. She twice recorded five blocks in a match (Oct. 11 vs. W&J, Sept. 7 vs. Mount Aloysius), while she served multiple aces in four matches. A team co-captain, Kocjancic is a three-time selection to the PAC Academic Honor Roll.
The Bearcats closed the 2022 regular season with a 17-8 overall record and 7-3 mark in the PAC, advancing to the PAC quarterfinals. Saint Vincent will now compete in the 2022 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship on Saturday, Nov. 12, taking on Cabrini University in the opening round at New Jersey City University at 2 p.m.
