WINTHROP, Mass. – Simmons University women's volleyball player Sydney Iannantuono (East Lyme, Conn.) was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week for the week of October 28 to November 3, it was announced today by the league.
The Sharks are the only school in the conference to have earned the Player, Rookie and Libero of the Week awards this season. Iannantuono becomes the first Simmons player to receive top weekly rookie honors since Jarene Harberts (2017) was named for the third time on October 30, 2017.
In six sets over two matches, the outside hitter was integral on both sides of the net for the Sharks, averaging 1.83 kills and a team-high 4.83 digs per set to go with 0.50 aces and 0.50 blocks per set to contribute to 2.67 points per frame. The East Lyme High School product swung for five kills and added three aces and two total blocks to go with an average of 5.33 digs per set for a total of 16 in three sets at host Suffolk University in the first contest of a tri-match on November 2. Iannantuono closed out the week by putting down six kills in addition to 13 digs and a block assist in three sets vs. Saint Joseph's College (Maine).
For the season, the first year ranks second on the team with 2.35 kills per set, while placing 16th among conference leaders and second for newcomers in the GNAC. The Nutmeg State native is the only rookie in the conference to average over 2.0 kills and digs per set and is also one of the best passers in the league, owning a .933 serve reception success rate to top Simmons. Iannantuono has played in 93 of 95 sets and appeared in all 26 matches for the Fenway school. She has recorded a pair of double-doubles on the season to rank second on the team and has registered 10 outings with double-digit kills in addition to eight occasions with 11 or more digs. The hitter posted a double-double of 12 kills and 12 digs in four sets vs. University of Massachusetts Boston on September 11 just six days after putting down a career-best 14 kills vs. Wentworth Institute of Technology in five frames. The two performances were part of a four-match stretch that saw the Physical Therapy major swing for 11 or more kills in all of them for a total of 49 from September 5-14.
The Sharks are currently 18-8 on the season, including a program-best 11-1 in conference play and earned the second seed in the upcoming GNAC Championship Tournament, where they will host seventh-seeded Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on Tuesday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. in Moore Gymnasium.