FOREST, Va. - The Roanoke College men's volleyball team took home two major awards and had five named to all-conference teams which were announced by the Old Dominion Athletic Conference on Saturday evening.
Senior Connor Tyson was selected as the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete and junior Colin Mendoza was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year. Mendoza, Michael Cummins, and Kaeden Noble all earned First Team All-ODAC honors while Jackson Rutkowski nabbed Second Team All-ODAC and Cade Kinne was named to the Third Team All-ODAC.
Connor Tyson earned his honors after posting a 3.988 as a Health & Exercise Science major. Tyson is also a member of two honor societies on campus, is a two-time CVC Academic All-Conference recipient, and has been named to the President's List on five occasions during his time with the team. The team captain played in 96 sets over 31 of the squad's 34 games this season.
Colin Mendoza took ODAC Defensive Player of the Year and first team honors after leading the conference in total blocks with 113 and ranking 14th in the nation in blocks per set. The middle hitter was a three-time Defensive Player of the Week during the season after multiple standout weeks as one of the leaders of the Roanoke defense. Mendoza was also seventh in the ODAC in hitting percentage at .283 and tallied 148 kills on the year.
Michael Cummins snagged first team accolades thanks in part to his team leading 288 kills. The outside hitter was seventh in service aces with 33 and eighth in the conference in kills per set at 2.59. Cummins became the first player in program history to surpass 700 career kills with his performance this season. The Virginia native was also notably tied for second on the team in digs with 169.
Kaeden Noble grabbed the libero spot on the first team, recognizing him as the top libero in the league. Noble led the Maroons and the conference in total digs with 339 and was 19th in all DIII in digs per set with his average of 2.87. The North Carolina product was also recognized as the ODAC Defensive Player of the Week during this season and was selected to the ODAC All-Tournament team after outstanding performances in the playoffs.
Jackson Rutkowski nabbed second team honors after being second on the squad in kills with 272. The outside hitter was also fifth in the league in kills per set with an average of 2.72. Rutkowski also put in work on the defensive side, racking up 116 digs and 30 blocks.
Cade Kinne rounded out the all-conference honorees with his selection to the third team. The outside hitter from Richmond, Virginia posted 133 kills and a .245 hitting percentage, which put him 12th in the conference in hitting percentage. Kinne also put together 32 blocks on the campaign.
