Eastern Volleyball Player Abigail Stern Wins Back-to-Back Rookie-of-the-Week Awards

2017 Sep 15

Abigail Stern '21 started off her first semester at Eastern Connecticut State University on a high note, as the freshman volleyball player from Manchester won her second Little East Conference (LEC) Rookie-of-the-Week award in a row.

"These past two weeks I have been working so hard during practice," said Stern, who majors in pre-elementary education and liberal studies. "They've been a fun two weeks because everyone on the team has bonded from the start, which has helped put us on a strong start this season."

Stern aspires to keep her hitting percentage above .250 this season and minimize unnecessary errors.

The 5-foot-10 outside hitter led the team to crucial victories over Eastern Nazarene College, Trinity College and Clark University. In 16 sets, Stern led Eastern in kills (65), and kills per set (4.06). She had a .259 attack percentage, four service aces, 60 digs (3.75 per set) and two block assists. Against Eastern Nazarene, she managed only one error on 16 reception attempts.

Prior to this week, Eastern had lost its previous six matches to Clark University. Stern played a pivotal role in ending that streak, as the freshman had a personal season-high of 29 kills (with a .368 attack percentage) and 18 digs as the Warriors posted their first 6-0 start in 16 seasons.

The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team will next play Sept. 16 versus Keene State College at noon, and then Salve Regina University at 4 p.m.