Northeast Conference Scholar Athlete Release
Northeast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll
Northeast Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - LIU Brooklyn volleyball senior Adriana Viñas Joy added another honor to her career list Monday, as the Northeast Conference announced she was named the 2015 Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year in the sport of volleyball. She is one of eight student-athletes conference-wide, each representing their sport, to earn the honor, and shares the award with Robert Morris junior April Krivoniak.

All scholar-athlete award winners must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours at their institution, maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.

Along with the scholar-athletes, the NEC announced its fall Academic Honor Roll, consisting of 656 student-athletes with a 3.20 or better grade point average. There were also 171 student-athletes named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll, recognizing those superior student-athletes with a 3.75 or better grade point average. The Commissioner's Honor Roll total represents a 22.1 percent increase from a year ago.

LIU had 47 athletes earn Academic Honor Roll honors, including three from cross country, 11 from volleyball, 14 from men's soccer, and 18 from the women's soccer team. Additionally, seven Blackbirds were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll: cross country's Shayla Wigand, Ryan Herold and Keaton Sprague from the men's soccer team, and Dolores Kopren, Alex Larsen, Viñas Joy and Jiayi Zhang from the volleyball team.

Viñas Joy earns the first Scholar Athlete of the Year honors of her career, making it the fourth-straight year an LIU volleyball player earned the award. Annika Foit earned the honor from from 2012-15. The honor caps a distinguished career for LIU's record-setting libero. Viñas Joy made history this past fall when she became the first player in conference history to win the NEC Libero of the Year award four times, and was also named the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and an ECAC All-Star. The four-time first team All-NEC honoree led the league in aces (0.67/game) and ranked second in digs (5.44/game). She finished her career as LIU Brooklyn's all-time leader with 2,024 digs. Over her four years, the Blackbirds compiled a 56-2 record in NEC play, and won four NEC regular season titles and three NEC Tournament championships. A three-time member of the NEC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Viñas Joy majors in Marketing and has a 3.92 grade point average.

2015 Northeast Conference Fall Scholar-Athletes
Sport	Name	School	Cl.	GPA	Major
Men's Cross Country	Sean Ferguson	Sacred Heart	Sr	3.82	History
Women's Cross Country	Danae Peters	Saint Francis U	Jr	3.94	Health Science (Physical Therapy)
Football	Nick Faraci	Robert Morris	Sr	3.94	Nursing
	Lance Geesey	Saint Francis U	R-Jr	3.92	Management/Marketing
Men's Soccer	Francis de Vries	Saint Francis U	Jr	3.88	Psychology
Women's Soccer	Megan Fritz	Wagner	Jr	3.96	Business Administration
Women's Volleyball	April Krivoniak	Robert Morris	Jr	3.99	Engineering
	Adriana Viñas Joy	LIU Brooklyn	Sr	3.92	Marketing

About The Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30). Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league's official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google , all @NECsports.