Complete NEC Release

BROOKLYN, N.Y. - LIU volleyball senior Anastasia Scott earned the league's biggest award for a defensive player Thursday, for the second year in a row. Scott was named the Northeast Conference's Defensive Player of the Year, in a vote from the league's coaches. She was also named first-team All-NEC, and joined on the first team by senior Jovana Stekovic. Junior Karolina Nova earned second team All-NEC honors. 

Scott put together another award-winning defensive season for LIU, pacing the NEC by a wide margin with 5.38 digs per set heading into the postseason. The libero currently ranks ninth in the NCAA in digs, eight places higher than she ranked following her junior campaign. Scott has recorded 293 digs on the year, including an NEC single-season match-high 34 in a match against Bryant on October 2. Scott, who earned NEC Defensive Player of the Week a conference-high six times, was also tabbed to the All-NEC first team for the second straight year to help lead the Sharks to the NEC playoffs for the 19th consecutive season. This is her second time earning the NEC Defensive Player of the Year honor, placing her alongside four-time winner Adriana Vinas-Joy (2012-15), Svetlana Simic (2007) and Natalia Rivera (2018) as LIU student-athletes who have won the (formerly titled Libero of the Year) award.
 
For the 19th consecutive season, LIU has landed at least one first team All-NEC performer. In addition to Scott, graduate student outside hitter Jovana Stekovic repeated as a first team honoree. Stekovic ranks third in the league in kills, posting 3.96 per set, and also sits among leaders in aces (0.33/set) and digs (2.90/set). Stekovic tied the NEC single-season match-high with 26 kills against FDU on September 24. LIU junior outside hitter Karolina Nova was named to the second team, marking her third All-NEC appearance. A first teamer in 2020-21 and a second team honoree in 2019, Nova is first in the NEC in service aces with 0.39 a set and ranks fifth in kills with 3.24 per set.
 
The Sharks open the 2021 NEC Championship tournament Friday, taking on #2 seed Sacred Heart at 3:30 p.m.