Women's Volleyball | 11/9/2016 10:50:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY – Senior outside hitter Sarah Szybist (Colorado Springs, CO/Ramstein) was named the 2016 Liberty League Volleyball Player of the Year, as the conference announced its award winners on Wednesday, Nov. 9. In addition to Szybist, junior Anna Valentine (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon), and sophomore Erin Parkinson (Carrollton, TX/W.T. White) were honorable mention selections.
 
Szybist became RIT's first Liberty League Player of the Year. She is RIT's first student-athlete to earn conference player of the year accolades since Christina Anabel was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year in 2005.
 
In addition to earning Player of the Year honors, Szybist was a 2016 All-Liberty League first team selection for the fourth consecutive season. Earlier in the month, she earned CoSIDA Academic All-Region honors for the third straight season.
 
Szybist enjoyed a tremendous senior season for the Tigers in 2016. She leads all of Division III with 770 kills. In addition, she is second nationally with 5.07 kills per set and 5.69 points per set. Szybist was second on the team with 437 digs and led the way with 69 blocks. On Oct. 15, Szybist was named the RIT Invitational Most Valuable Player for the fourth straight season. Earlier in the year, she earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Springfield Tournament, Marcia French Invitational, Fredonia Blue Devil Invitational, and New York State Regional Challenge.
 
Szybist finished her RIT career with a program record 2,563 kills, which is also sixth all-time in Division III Volleyball history. Szybist also recorded 1,132 career digs, 252 blocks, and 157 service aces in 147 matches. She was a 13-time Liberty League Performer of the Week and the 2013 Rookie of the Year.
 
Parkinson, who was an All-Liberty League honorable mention selection in 2015, recorded career high totals of 1,258 assists, 64 kills, 44 service aces, and 36 blocks this season. She was named to RIT Invitational All-Tournament Team on Oct. 15. On Sept. 10, Parkinson recorded a career-high 66 assists against Mt. Union and 13 matches with at least 40 assists in 2016.
 
In two seasons, Parkinson has 2,459 career assists, which is seventh most all-time at the university. She was also named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team for the first time in 2016.
 
Valentine enjoyed her best season to date in 2016. She finished with 401 digs, third most on the team to go along with 260 kills and 132 assists, both second best on RIT. She recorded seven matches with at least 10 kills and four double-doubles. On Oct. 4, Valentine tallied a career-high 27 digs against Nazareth.
 
For her career, Valentine has 790 digs, 479 kills, 169 assists, and 77 service aces, despite missing the entire 2014 season due to injury. She is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic team selection and was a 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team recipient.
 
RIT finished the year with a 21-18 record, advancing to the Liberty League Tournament for the fifth time in six seasons.