MORRISVILLE, N.Y. – The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has announced its 2018 individual award winners and All-Conference selections in the sport of women's volleyball Wednesday, naming Morrisville State junior outside hitter, Megyan Merrill (Millport, N.Y.) the Player of the Year, as voted by conference coaches.
"Megyan is as driven as any player I have coached, she likes to win, hates to lose, but most of she LOVES to compete," said head coach Fred Wallace.
"Over the last three years Meg has proven herself to be a true "go to" player. She has developed into (in my opinion) one of the very best at the DIII level, so to see her get recognized as the NEAC player of the year is very exciting."
"Megyan is most certainly one of the driving forces behind this run we have been on over the last few years. Her sarcasm is matched only by her volleyball abilities, but neither of those compare to her willingness to do whatever it takes to be the best she can and bring out the best in others."
Merrill led Morrisville State to a 23-6 overall record on the season and the program's first undefeated NEAC season and regular season title at 11-0 behind her stellar offensive attacking game.
The junior has appeared in 26 matches for the Mustangs, playing a total 89 sets, while leading the way with a total 343 kills, an average of 3.85 per set as Morrisville State posted a league leading 1313 kills on the year, an average of 13.13 (another league leading stat), while ranking first overall in hitting percentage, assists and ranking second in digs.
Merrill completed the season with an overall hitting percentage of .295 at the net, while adding 45 aces in the service game, and 271 digs in the defensive game. Merrill posted a single game high 24 kills in a 3-2 match win over Rowan University and within conference play, a single game high 17 against Wells.
Against Gallaudet and Lancaster Bible College, the junior posted a combined 25 kills and 18 digs to secure the top seed in the tournament.
Within conference play, the junior collected 117 kills, an average of 3.34 per set, for a .373 hitting percentage, while collecting 20 service aces and 105 total digs as Morrisville State posted a set win total of 33 with just 2 set losses.
Merrill currently ranks 54th in all of Division III in kills per set, also ranking 57th in points per set as she averaged 4.4 across the season.
She currently ranks first overall in kills per set (3.85), third in hitting percentage (.295), second overall in total kills (343) and 1st in points per set (4.4) among competitors in the NEAC.
Merrill also ranks second overall in points (392.5).
She is a two-time NEAC Player of the Week selection this season, and is a first team All-Conference selection a year ago, and was a 2017 AVCA Division III Northeast Region Honorable Mention selection.
Merrill is a graduate of Horseheads High and is majoring in applied psychology at SUNY Morrisville. She is the daughter of Melissa and David Merrill of Millport.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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