BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The LIU Brooklyn junior Natalia Rivera was named 2017 Northeast Conference Defensive Player of The Year and head coach Ken Ko received Coach of the Year honors at the league's annual banquet Thursday night preceding the tournament. Three Blackbirds earned All-NEC Honors as Rivera and senior Viktoria Fink were named first team All-NEC and junior Filippa Hansson was named second team All-NEC.
Rivera, a three-time NEC Defensive Player of The Week during the regular season was tabbed the leagues top defensive player by the coaches. She also garnered first team All-NEC honors at libero, putting up a career-high 5.48 digs per set in her junior campaign, leading the NEC during the regular season. Her digs per set season average ranks 16th in the country. Rivera set the NEC season-high for digs in three sets with 25 against Saint Francis U on October 25 and four sets with 33 on two occasions and eclipsed 1,500 career digs last weekend.
Ko was honored by his peers as the Coach of The Year for the first time after guiding the Blackbirds to a 15-8 record during the regular season and a 12-2 mark in NEC play. He has led the Blackbirds to three regular season titles and a pair of NEC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in his four seasons in downtown Brooklyn. He has the team primed to make a run at their third straight NEC Championship. LIU leads the NEC in opposing hitting percentage (.162) and digs per set (16.78) and rank second in blocks per set (2.30) heading into the postseason.
Fink earned her second straight first-team All-NEC nod after a stellar regular season for her senior campaign. The 2017 NEC Player of the Year posted 3.36 kills per set to lead LIU, that mark ranked third among NEC leaders. The senior was a two-way standout for the Blackbirds, as she finished second on the team with 2.41 digs per set during the regular season.
Hansson garnered All-NEC Second Team honors for the second straight year after pacing the Blackbirds at the net. The junior led LIU with a .294 hitting percentage that also ranked fourth among league leaders. She also ranked 10th in the NEC with .80 blocks per set. Her 2.17 kills per set average ranked second on the team.
The Blackbirds posted a 12-2 record in Northeast Conference play to secure the 11th regular season title in program history and the right to host the tournament this weekend. They were awarded the 2018 regular season championship trophy at the banquet on Tuesday night.
Up next, top-seeded LIU takes on No. 4 seed Sacred Heart in the NEC Tournament semifinals, Friday, November 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Steinberg Center.