Posted: Nov 04, 2015

Leite-Ah Yo Headlines NEAC All-Conference Announcement

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – Sophomore Anuhea Leite-Ah Yo (Hilo, Hawaii) of the Wells College women's volleyball team headlined the North Eastern Athletic Conference Women's Volleyball All-Conference selections, netting the league's Defensive Player of the Year. She joins two other Wells student-athletes on the league's All-Conference list, announced Wednesday afternoon.

In addition to her selection as the conference's top defensive player, Leite-Ah Yo earned Third Team All-Conference for her body of work in 2015. Senior Vashti Nettles (Long Beach, Calif.) and junior Meredith Kadjeski (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) were named First Team All-Conference for the second-straight season.

The trio has helped the Express post its best conference record in team history (11-1), qualifying for the NEAC postseason for the second-straight year after ranking second in the conference's preseason poll in late August. Wells racked up an 18-10 overall record, playing 10 programs that finished with at least 18 wins on the year that included eight 20-plus win squads. The team will be in search of its first-ever postseason victory on Saturday.

A two-way threat on the court, Leite-Ah Yo followed up her 2014 NEAC Rookie of the Year campaign with 177 total kills (2.13/set) to go along with 255 digs in 83 sets played as a sophomore. Averaging 3.07 digs per set, Leite-Ah Yo set single-match record on Sept. 12, 2015 against Alfred, racking up 26 digs against the Saxons.

Committing only 28 reception errors on 455 total chances, Leite-Ah Yo also tabulated 17 service aces in her second season at Wells. This season, she posted a career-high attacking percentage (min. 20 attacks) of .333, hammering home 11 kills while committing only two service errors against Penn College on Sept. 19.

For her career, she ranks first all-time with a .945 reception percentage (min. 100 receptions) and second all-time in digs per set (2.98). Her 2.22 kills per set places her third in the team's history and she also holds the mark for fourth-most career digs (604) and career kills (450) in an Express uniform.

"While it's unusual not to nominate your libero for this award, anybody who has played our team has seen Anuhea's athletic and smart defensive play up close," remarked Head Coach Richard Gary. "She's fast, has great platform control and reads the game well. She puts in maximum effort every point and, despite injury this year, managed to build a nice resume while balancing duties as an outside hitter."

Kadjeski has earned All-Conference honors for three-straight seasons in a Wells uniform, the only player to achieve that feat in team history. After earning Second Team All-NEAC placement as a freshman, she joins Nettles as the only two-time First Team honoree from Wells.

Finishing 10th in the NEAC with 258 kills to her credit, Kadjeski recorded only 99 errors on 637 attacks to post the league's 10th-best attacking percentage (.234) across 101 sets played as a junior. Leading her team with a .225 attacking percentage against conference opponents (min. 150 attacks), Kadjeski also chipped in with 21 of her total 42 blocks against NEAC programs, the 12th-most in the league.

In her career at Wells, she is the program's all-time leader in kills (826), service aces per set (0.44) and attacking attempts (2,352). She is also second in kills per set (2.59), service aces (141), total blocks (112) and service attempts (966). Her 319 sets played places her third all-time in team history.

"Meredith has become a unique and powerful right side in the conference," said Gary. "Her service and blocking abilities are added assets, but perhaps her strongest attribute is that she has a difficult swing to defend. Whether straight on or hitting the slide, she is able to take over matches."

Nettles secured her second career NEAC First Team All-Conference award after posting 343 total kills entering the league's postseason this weekend, ranking third in the conference. Her 3.40 kills per set also ranks her third in league play and she finished the regular season with a .215 attacking percentage, ranking within the league's top-15 attackers.

Against conference opponents, Nettles registered 137 kills on the year to rank fourth in the NEAC while averaging the fifth-most per set in league play (3.19). A strong net-front presence, she also finished with 36 total blocks and set career-high marks with 29 service aces and 89 total digs.

In only two seasons of play at Wells, she ranks first all-time in career kills per set (2.98), career attacking percentage (.259), solo blocks (46) and points per set (3.48). Her 665 kills place her second all-time and her 1,643 attacking attempts places her second in the team's history.

"There's no question that Vashti is a force for us and she's been a key to our team's success again this year," remarked Gary. "We moved Vashti from the middle to the outside and vice versa, depending on where her team needed her most. A hallmark of great competitors is that they can adapt to new situations and find ways to excel and I am pleased to see my peers recognize this in Vashti."

The Express, entering the upcoming NEAC postseason as the No. 2 seed, earned a first round bye and will play its first match on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. on the campus of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Wells will oppose either Gallaudet or Lancaster Bible, pending the final outcome of the Friday, Nov. 6 match.