NEW YORK | U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Farmingdale State and Manhattanville finished atop the conference regular-season standings this fall and a key cog from each of its rosters headlines the 2022 edition of the all-conference team.

The Skyline Conference's 12 head women's volleyball coaches cast their votes and have named USMMA’s Paige Smith (pictured below) Player of the Year, Manhattanville breakout newcomer Loren Hernandez Rookie of the Year and FSC head coach Kellie Block Coach of the Year.
 
The championship once again featured Manhattanville and USMMA, but this fall, the two and FSC finished with identical conference records. The third-seeded Valiants met top-seeded USMMA for a third-straight championship final, flipping the script on last year’s finish. After the Valiants defeated the Mariners to win the 2019 title, USMMA earned the crown in last season's championship rematch only to watch as the Valiants took the latest installment to punch their ticket to the NCAAs. Manhattanville will now face Stevens in the NCAA Tournament.  

Prior to the championship, the Valiants upset No. 2 Farmingdale State 3-0 in the league semifinals. The three teams finished with identical 10-1 conference records during the fall campaign, but a tiebreaker gave the Mariners the edge over both FSC and Manhattanville.  

Smith paced the Mariners in 2022, totaling a team-best 274 kills – second in the league to fellow all-conference standout Grace Riddle of Mount Saint Mary. She also finished with a team-best 40 service aces. The senior follows up a junior campaign in which she was named to the First Team and also led USMMA to the championship, taking home Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball Championship. Now, she can add Skyline Player of the Year to her resume in 2022.  

Manhattanville has a Skyline-best three student-athletes on the First Team and also boasts Hernandez (below), who was named Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week a record six teams this season en route to the Rookie of the Year honor. The freshman finished third on the team in kills per set, adding punch to a veteran championship squad that has now won two of the last three finals.  
 
Block (below) took over in the middle of last season for the Rams, and guided her side to a 16-10 overall mark and a 10-1 ledger in conference action, sharing Skyline Coach of the Year honors with Sovanny Ebbesen of Sarah Lawrence in 2021. This year, the award is Block’s alone as she led FSC to a 10-1 league mark and an appearance in the conference semifinals against the eventual champion Valiants.
 
2022 Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball All-Conference Team

First Team

Grace Ballagas, So., L - Manhattanville
Brittany Breland, Jr., OH - USMMA
Cathleen Farrell, Sr., OH - Farmingdale State
Alejandra Figueroa, Grad Student, OH - Manhattanville
Kalena Ricketts, So., MB - Farmingdale State
Grace Riddle, Sr., OH - Mount Saint Mary
Paige Smith, Sr., OH - USMMA
Vianca Vital, Sr., S - Manhattanville

Second Team

Meredith Buchanan, Jr., RS - USMMA
Fran Cammarata, Sr., S - Mount Saint Mary
Kaille Ferguson, Jr., L - Sarah Lawrence
Kate Flamio, Sr., OH - Farmingdale State
Claire Hyun, Sr., S - USMMA
Mikayla Profeta, So., MB - Farmingdale State
Jackie Wolf, So., OH - St. Joseph’s-Long Island

Player of the Year: Paige Smith, USMMA
Rookie of the Year: Loren Hernandez, Manhattanville
Coach of the Year: Kellie Block, Farmingdale State