New Jersey City University junior middle blocker Lizzelle Cintron has been named the Volleyball Player of the Year in the New Jersey Athletic Conference for the 2006 season. In total, 13 student-athletes received all-conference recognition in NJAC volleyball in 2006. All selections were determined by a vote of the league’s nine head coaches. 

A two-time Player of the Year, Cintron led the Gothic Knights to the postseason for the second consecutive year and currently leads the NJAC in hitting percentage (.496), kills per game (5.56), and points per game (6.96). A six-time NJAC Player of the Week selection, she currently boasts the best hitting percentage in all of Division III while ranking fourth nationally in kills. Cintron and the Gothic Knights, who finished as NJAC runners-up after capturing the conference crown in 2005, have earned the top seed in the ECAC South Tournament and will host Neumann in a first round match on November 10.

Richard Stockton senior libero Colleen Bachmann was selected as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. The league’s first recipient of the award in 2005, she currently ranks fifth in the NJAC in digs per game (4.01) and sixth in the conference in service aces (0.68 per game). As champions of the NJAC, Bachman and the Ospreys will open play in the NCAA Tournament against Eastern at Juniata College on November 9.

Ramapo freshman opposite hitter Kaitlin Smith was selected as the conference Rookie of the Year. An NJAC Rookie of the Week selection in Week 8, she currently ranks fifth in the NJAC in kills with an average of 3.42 per game.

Richard Stockton first-year head coach Allison Walker was selected as the 2006 NJAC Coach of the Year by her peers. In her rookie season with the Ospreys, Walker has guided Stockton to a 26-8 overall record en route to the 2006 NJAC Tournament Championship and a perfect 8-0 mark in conference regular season play.

2006 NJAC VOLLEYBALL ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS