CVC All-Conference Release | CVC Final Highlights | NCAA Tournament InfoNEWARK, N.J. (April 14, 2015) – Senior middle
Cody Chidsey was named the Player of the year and
Pedro Trevino was named the Coach of the Year as the Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) announced its major individual honors Tuesday.
The Scarlet Raiders won the CVC title and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III championship in their first year as a member of the league after becoming a full member of Division III this season.
Chidsey had a remarkable year for the Scarlet Raiders, leading the conference in hitting percentage at .441. His hitting percentage has him ranked third in the nation and his 3.16 kills per set is 30th in the country and third in the CVC. The Bath, Pa. native had an attacking percentage of at least .400 17 different times over the course of the season, tallying 10 kills or more in 16 matches. The 6-4 middle leads the team in kills (322), points per set (3.75) and kills per set (3.16), adding 21 block solos and 48 block assists to his line. Chidsey has eclipsed double-digit kills in 14-of-18 matches played and recently ended a streak in which he had 11 or more in seven-straight matches.
A 2015 member of the All-CVC team, Chidsey was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Player of the Week on April 7 and has been a three-time CVC Player of the Week honoree.
"Cody's earned this award, without a doubt," said Trevino. "He put in so many hours on the court and in the weight room, and it's great to see all of that effort pay off with an honor like this and a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament."
Named the program's head coach in 2011, Trevino has overseen the transformation of Rutgers-Newark men's volleyball from an NCAA Division I program to a Division III program over the last four-plus years. In his first year guiding Newark against a typical Division III schedule, the Wisconsin native has his team playing well and peaking at the end of the year.
Trevino pushed Rutgers-Newark to an overall record of 21-8, including an 11-1 record in conference play. An upset of then fourth-ranked Juniata College clinched the hosting rites for the CVC Tournament, and as the No. 1 seed the Scarlet Raiders rolled to the crown with 3-0 sweeps of Thiel College and Stevenson University.
"As a head coach it's always great to be honored, but this is truly an award for the entire coaching staff," said Trevino. "Jason (Madsen) and Christian (Portera) have worked tirelessly in remaking our volleyball program and the success we have experienced this season absolutely would not have happened without them."
Since a rough start to 2015 against an extremely challenging schedule, Rutgers-Newark has been getting better and better, winning 21 of its last 24 matches. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Scarlet Raiders lead the conference in assists per set and kills per set, ranking second in aces per set, blocks per set, hitting percentage and won-loss percentage. Rutgers-Newark is fourth nationally in blocks per set, fifth in assists per set, fifth in kills per set and eighth in hitting percentage.
Chidsey, junior setter
Kevin McCandless and junior libero
Quocmy Nguyen achieved all-conference honors last week under the director of Trevino and his staff.
Rutgers-Newark will host NJIT Tuesday night before welcoming Endicott College to The Golden Dome Arena on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. for the first round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Championship.
