Players of the Week
Player of the Week
Stasa Stamenkovic, Mercy
Junior | Outside Hitter | Bor, Serbia
Stamenkovic had a team-high 36 kills and 5.14 kills per set on .354 hitting with 13 digs, three blocks, two aces and one assist as Mercy went 2-0 on the week. The junior opened the week with a double-double by way of a match-high 17 kills on .682 hitting to go with 10 digs, one block, and one ace in the sweep at Queens on Thursday. Stamenkovic ended the week with a match-high 19 kills to go with three digs, two blocks, one ace and one assist in the four-set win at Daemen on Sunday. The junior recorded three straight kills to end the third set, giving Mercy the 26-24 win, after trailing 24-23 with the match tied at 1-1.
Defensive Player of the Week
Mia Illes-Hair, Mercy
Senior | Middle Blocker | Lake Worth, Fla
Illes-Hair had a team-high nine blocks (2 solo, 7 assists) and 1.29 blocks per set with 14 kills, three digs, and two assists as Mercy went 2-0. The senior opened the week with five kills, two blocks (1 solo, 1 assist), two digs, and one assist in the sweep at Queens on Thursday. The middle blocker ended the week with nine kills on .500 hitting with a match-high-tying seven blocks (1 solo, 6 assists) and one dig in the four-set win at Daemen on Sunday.
Co-Setters of the Week
Ashley Ballou, D'Youville
Redshirt Sophomore | Setter | Eden, NY
Ballou was a rock for the Saints, recording 56 assists across two conference wins over Molloy, 3-1, and St. Thomas Aquinas, 3-0, this past weekend. The DYU redshirt sophomore went for 33 assists, seven digs, three blocks, and three kills against Molloy and 23 assists, six digs, three blocks, and one kill against STAC. Ballou opened the week with 23 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 loss to Slippery Rock in non-conference action.
Adriana Rivera Rodriguez, Mercy
Senior | Setter | Humacao, Puerto Rico
Rivera Rodriguez had a team-high 63 assists and 9.00 assists per set with eight digs, one block, one kill and two aces as Mercy went 2-0 on the week. The senior opened the week with a match-high 33 assists to go with two digs, and one ace in the sweep at Queens on Thursday. The setter then had a match-high 30 assists with six digs, one block, one ace and one kill in the four-set win at Daemen on Sunday to keep Mercy a perfect 6-0 in ECC action.
Rookie of the Week
Zoe Sercu, Queens
Freshman | Outside Hitter | Ojai, CA
Sercu paced the young Knights squad with a team-best 30 kills, averaging 3.75 kills per set while adding 11 digs, two blocks, and three service aces. Against defending champions Mercy, Sercu recorded 12 kills. In Saturday afternoon's five-set battle against Roberts Wesleyan, Sercu recorded her fourth career double-double, finishing with a career-best 18 kills, 10 digs, three service aces, and two blocks.
Weekly Honor Roll
Avery Craig, Daemen
Junior | Outside Hitter | Tomball, TX
Craig totaled 20 kills (2.8 kills/set) and 24 digs (3.4 digs/set) while adding six aces and two blocks as Daemen went 1-1 on the weekend. The junior outside hitter posted nine kills, 15 digs and a career-high six aces in Daemen's 3-0 sweep over STAC on Saturday afternoon. Craig followed up with an 11 kill, nine dig performance in the 3-1 loss to Mercy on Sunday.
Grace Dilena, Mercy
Junior | Outside Hitter | New York, NY
Dilena had 19 kills on .262 hitting with a team-high 23 digs and 3.29 digs per set, three blocks, two aces and one assist as Mercy went 2-0. The junior opened the week with nine kills on .467 hitting to go with 11 digs, and one ace in the sweep at Queens on Thursday. The outside hitter ended the week with a double-double by way of 10 kills and a match-high 12 digs in the four-set win at Daemen on Sunday. Dilena added three blocks, one ace and one assist in the win.
Julia Dufkova, Roberts Wesleyan
Senior | Libero | Prague, Czech Republic
Dufkova was the dominant defensive player for Roberts in a 1-1 weekend that included a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win over Queens. She finished the weekend with a team-high 23 digs including 18 against Queens in the victory.
Amelia Gonzalez, Daemen
Senior | Middle Blocker | Juana Diaz, PR
Gonzalez totaled 10 blocks (1.4 blocks/set) and six kills as Daemen put together a 1-1 weekend with a 3-0 sweep over STAC and a 1-3 loss to Mercy. The Wildcat senior posted a career-tying high seven blocks against Mercy on Sunday, including a stretch where she totaled four straight blocks in the first set.
Camryn Karelus, Roberts Wesleyan
Senior | Outside Hitter | Rochester, NY
Karelus led Roberts in a 1-1 weekend of ECC matches as the Redhawks won a 3-2 decision over Queens but dropped a 3-0 decision to Molloy. For the weekend, Karelus totaled 29 kills, including a season-high 20 in the win over Queens. The RWU outside hitter added four aces and 17 digs for the Redhawks.
Hayden Riddle, Molloy
Senior | Setter | Franklin, TN
Riddle had a team-high 62 assists and 5.17 assists per set with 13 digs and nine aces in three matches this past week. The senior opened the week with a match-high 27 assists to go with six digs in a non-conference match-up against Adelphi. The setter had another 19 assists, four digs, and a career-best six aces in the game against D'Youville. She ended the week with 16 kills, two digs, and two aces in the sweep against Roberts Wesleyan.
Erin Stanley, Molloy
Senior | Outside Hitter | Massapequa Park, NY
Stanely led the Lions offense for the week, totaling 33 kills, four digs, and 10 total blocks across three contests. She opened the week with 13 kills, three digs, and three blocks against local rival Adelphi. Against D'Youville, the outside hitter had 10 kills, a dig, and six assisted blocks in the four set match. To close out the weekend, the senior added another 10 kills, plus a solo block.
Cameron Ulinski, D'Youville
Junior | Outside Hitter | Bretten, Germany
Ulinski was a standout for the Saints this weekend, recording 38 kills with a .160 hitting percentage. The junior also recorded eight service aces and 29 digs. Ulinksi recorded double-doubles in both of the Saints wins this weekend while leading the team in both games in kills.
2026 ECC Women's Volleyball Weekly Award Winners
Player of the Week
Aug. 31 – Grace Dilena (Mercy)
Sep. 7 – Grace Dilena (Mercy)
Sep. 14 – Cameron Ulinski (D'Youville)
Sep. 21 – Grace Dilena (Mercy)
Sep. 28 – Stasa Stamenkovic (Mercy)
Oct. 5 – Grace Dilena (Mercy) (4x)
Oct. 12 – Cameron Ulinski (D'Youville) (2x)
Oct. 19 – Stasa Stamenkovic (Mercy) (2x)
Defensive Player of the Week
Aug. 31 – Kamila Colon (Mercy)
Sep. 7 – Kamila Colon (Mercy) (2x)
Sep. 14 – Mia Illes-Hair (Mercy)
Sep. 21 – Stasa Stamenkovic (Mercy)
Sep. 28 – Aleksandra Lucic (Mercy)
Oct. 5 – Aleksandra Lucic (Mercy)
Oct. 12 – Aleksandra Lucic (Mercy) (3x)
Oct. 19 – Mia Illes-Hair (Mercy) (2x)
Setter of the Week
Aug. 31 – Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy)
Sep. 7 – Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy)
Sep. 14 – Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy)
Sep. 21 – Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy)
Sep. 28 – Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy)
Oct. 5 – Ashley Ballou (D'Youville)
Oct. 12 – Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy) (6x)
Oct. 19 – Ashley Ballou (D'Youville (2x) and Adriana Rivera Rodriguez (Mercy) (7x)
Rookie of the Week
Aug. 31 – Zoe Sercu (Queens)
Sep. 7 – Amelie Gasche (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Sep. 14 – Audrey Johnson (Daemen)
Sep. 21 – Audrey Johnson (Daemen)
Sep. 28 – Audrey Johnson (Daemen) (3x)
Oct. 5 – Kailie Girard (Molloy)
Oct. 12 – Kailie Girard (Molloy) (2x)
Oct. 19 – Zoe Sercu (Queens) (2x)
2026 ECC Women's Volleyball Preseason Poll
1. Mercy - 49 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Molloy - 38 points
3. Daemen - 37 points
4. D'Youville - 29 points
5. Roberts Wesleyan - 15 points
T6. St. Thomas Aquinas - 14 points
T6. Queens - 14 points
***
Founded as the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1989 and rechristened the East Coast Conference in July 2006, the ECC was formed to enhance intercollegiate athletic competition among member institutions and to assist them in integrating athletics into their academic program in a fiscally sound way. The ECC is committed to the highest standards of scholarship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and citizenship. Its mission is to promote the total person concept in its student-athletes, which stresses the abilities to excel in academic achievement, athletic competition, and positive character traits. East Coast Conference members include: Daemen University (Amherst, N.Y.); University of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.); D'Youville University (Buffalo, N.Y.); Mercy University (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); Molloy University (Rockville Centre, N.Y.); Queens College (Flushing, N.Y.); Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, N.Y.); College of Staten Island (Staten Island, N.Y.); and St. Thomas Aquinas College (Sparkill, N.Y.). The ECC also is home to 13 associate members in the sports of women's bowling (3), men's and women's indoor track & field (3), men's volleyball (2), field hockey (1), and men's lacrosse (1).
The ECC sponsors the following championship sports: baseball; men's and women's basketball; women's bowling; men's and women's cross country; field hockey; men's and women's lacrosse; men's and women's indoor track and field; men's and women's outdoor track and field; men's and women's soccer; softball; and men's and women's volleyball.
The East Coast Conference is a proud member of the NCAA and Division II. Division II is a dynamic and engaging group of colleges, institutions and conferences of varying sizes and educational missions. Division II members encourage and support diversity; value sportsmanship, fairness and equity; and place the highest priority on the overall educational excellence of the student-athlete.