EAST STROUDSBURG – On Thursday afternoon, the PSAC announced its all-conference teams and major award winners, with senior setter Ali Finch earning East Athlete of the Year honors and first-year head coach Tricia Melfy being named the East Coach of the Year.
Additionally, seniors Emily Meredith and Kenzie Guimont were both selected to the All-PSAC Second Team in the Eastern Division.
Finch, who was also named to the All-PSAC East First Team, becomes the third player in program history to garner Player of the Year honors and the first since April Mellott in 2000. The Cadillac, Mich. native has done a little bit of everything for ESU this season as she has a team-high 197 kills, 799 assists, five triple doubles and is second on the squad in digs (314) and blocks (81.0).
The three-time PSAC East Athlete of the Week ranks fifth nationally in triple doubles and among conference ranks, Finch is 10th in assists per set and total assists.
Meredith earned her first all-conference laurels after pacing ESU with 510 digs and 5.10 digs per set this season. The senior now has 1,659 career digs and counting which are the third most in program history. The Canton, Mich. native was third on the team in assists (93) and is sixth in the PSAC in total digs as well as digs per set. Meredith was honored as the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career back on September 14.
Guimont secured the first All-PSAC honors of her career after leading ESU with 86 blocks this season. The Temecula, Calif. native is also third on the team in kills (174) and among PSAC ranks, Guimont is 12th in both total blocks and blocks per set (0.91).
In her first season, Melfy became the fourth head coach in program history to be named the Coach of the Year after guiding the Warriors to No. 1 seed in the PSAC East. ESU closed out the regular season on a nine-match winning streak, which included sweeps in eight of those contest. The 12 PSAC victories this season marks the fourth time ESU has ever eclipsed double-digit conference wins.
The Warriors have now earned back-to-back Coach of the Year accolades as former head coach, Kevin Rodgers, received the honors in 2019.
The Warriors make their second straight appearance in the PSAC Semifinal on Friday as they welcome Clarion to Koehler Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m.
