PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Little East Conference (LEC) announced its 2021 women's volleyball postseason award recipients Thursday, following a vote of the league’s head coaches. Eastern Connecticut’s Anna Barry was named the 2021 LEC Offensive Player of the Year, while Plymouth State’s Marissa Plaza and Lilli Stogner were named the 2021 LEC Defensive Player of the Year and 2021 LEC Rookie of the Year, respectively. Panthers’ head coach Joan Forge was elected 2021 LEC Coach of the Year.
Barry repeated as the LEC’s Offensive Player of the Year after leading the LEC in kills (371), kills per set (3.91) and hitting percentage (.393), and leading the Warriors to a tie for second in the final conference standings. Her 60 blocks are sixth-most in the league. She is the first-ever Eastern Connecticut player to repeat as LEC Offensive Player of the Year.
Plaza was named the LEC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the LEC in both digs (393) and digs per set (4.32); she was second on the team in serve reception at 94.4-percent over her 501 attempts. She is only the second-ever Plymouth State player to be named LEC Defensive Player of the Year, the other being Sarah Spears in 2007.
Stogner was named the LEC Rookie of the Year after leading the Panthers with 237 kills (2.86 per set) while hitting .285 in her first collegiate season. She is just the second player in program history to be named LEC Rookie of the Year, the first being LEC Hall of Famer Becky Landry following the 2000 season.
Forge was named LEC Coach of the Year for the second time in as many seasons after guiding the Panthers to an overall record of 23-2 during the regular season, which included a perfect 8-0 mark in league play to claim the 2021 LEC regular season title. This was the first time the Panthers won the conference regular season crown outright, and their fifth overall.
The complete list of honorees is as follows.
| Offensive Player of the Year |
Anna Barry |
Eastern Connecticut State University |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Marissa Plaza |
Plymouth State University |
| Rookie of the Year |
Lilli Stogner |
Plymouth State University |
| Coach of the Year |
Joan Forge |
Plymouth State University |
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| First Team All-Conference |
| Anna Barry |
Eastern Connecticut |
Middle Hitter |
| Abby Stern |
Eastern Connecticut |
Outside Hitter |
| Alexa Price |
Plymouth State |
Setter |
| Emilee Flanagan |
Plymouth State |
Middle Hitter |
| Marcelle Tiscareno |
UMass Boston |
Hitter |
| Abbi Debes |
WestConn |
Middle Hitter |
| Rory McMaster |
WestConn |
Setter |
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|
| Second Team All-Conference |
| Emilyann Ashford |
Keene State |
Middle Hitter |
| Kacie Blanchet |
Keene State |
Setter |
| Sydney Johnson |
Keene State |
Outside Hitter |
| Marissa Plaza |
Plymouth State |
Libero |
| Lilli Stogner |
Plymouth State |
Outside Hitter |
| Carsen Komminsk |
UMass Boston |
Setter |
| Emilia Czapiewska |
UMass Boston |
Hitter |
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|
|
| Sportsmanship Team |
| Castleton |
Lizzie Goodrich |
Outside Hitter |
| Eastern Connecticut |
Meg Verizzi |
Setter |
| Keene State |
Sarah Williams |
Libero |
| UMass Boston |
Kelsey Pereira |
Hitter |
| UMass Dartmouth |
Zoe Dizenzo |
Setter |
| Plymouth State |
Hannah Chartier |
Defensive Specialist |
| Rhode Island College |
Wynter Colon |
Defensive Specialist |
| Southern Maine |
Phoebe Slovenski |
Setter/Outside Hitter |
| Western Connecticut |
Jenna Greenhill |
Defensive Specialist |