Each week during the academic year, the NE10 honors Athletes of the Week for all of its 24 sponsored sports while they are in season. Faces in the Crowd shines a spotlight on outstanding on-field performances that didn’t earn Athlete of the Week recognition, while also highlighting academic or community efforts from student-athletes across the league. 

Below are this week’s NE10 Faces in the Crowd.

 

Hope Fox

School: Southern Connecticut
Sport: Basketball

Fox made history for Southern Connecticut women’s basketball in their NE10 opener against Franklin Pierce. Fox recorded a career-best of nine steals, which is the second-most steals in a single-game in program history and the most since Kiana Steinauer had 10 against Stonehill in 2019. Additionally, Fox’s nine steals are the most recorded in a game in the NE10 this season and third-most in the NCAA.

Jodiann Ebanks

School: American International

Sport: Track & Field

A Campbell transfer, Ebanks was at the front of the sprints for AIC in the TRACK at new balance Early Bird Invitational.  She won the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash with her 25.42-second time in the 200-meter race being the fastest in the NE10 and throughout the East Region after the year’s first week of competition.

Ruzgar Christina Boyle

School: American International

Sport: Basketball

Boyle lost her mind this weekend against Pace, drilling six first quarter threes en route to nine total makes and a new AIC single-game record.  Boyle finish an insane 9-13 from behind the arc va the Setters for a career-high 27 points.  The nine makes are the second-most by a women’s basketball player in DII this winter.

Skyla Lang

School: Bentley

Sport: Swimming & Diving

Lang won three races at the WPI Gompei Invitational last week, most notably breaking her own school record in the 100 IM at 58.09, which is the fastest time in the NE10 this season.  Lang also won the 400 IM and the 100 Breaststroke. Her time in the 400 IM is the best in the NE10 so far (4:34.02).

Valerii Pidhoretskyy

School: Adelphi

Sport: Swimming & Diving

Valerii posted personal bests in every race he swam last week, breaking Adelphi records in the 50 Free, 100 Free, 400 Medley Relay, 200 Medley Relay.  He swam the fastest times in the NE10 this season in the 50 Free and the 200 Free Relay while posting the league’s second-best times in the 100 Free, 100 Fly, 200 IM, 400 Free Relay and 800 Free Relay. 

 

This Year’s Faces in the Crowd

Week 1

Anna Daggatt, Saint Michael’s Volleyball

Dillon Labonte, SNHU Cross Country

Jakkai Stith, AIC Football

Jenni Huttunen, Franklin Pierce Soccer

Taylor Leckey, SCSU Field Hockley

Week 2

Alice Bender, Pace Volleyball

Annie Lorenz, Bentley Field Hockey

Isabel Hughes and Claudia Keith, SNHU Soccer

Reese Swanson, Franklin Pierce Field Hockey

Connor Dietz, AIC Football

Jay Kastantin, Assumption Football

Week 3

Dillon Labonte, SNHU Cross Country

Elizjah Lewis, Pace Football

Grace Almeida, Saint Michael’s Volleyball

Lana Mignon De Wet, Adelphi Field Hockey

Paola Soto Burgos, AIC Volleyball

Week 4

Brennah Abilheira-Cargill, Assumption Volleyball

Kerrigan Habing, SCSU Volleyball

Drew Forkner, St. Anselm Football

Khais Milligan, Pace Soccer

Madeline Krepelka, Bentley Field Hockey

Week 5

Connor Dietz, AIC Football

Elizjah Lewis, Pace Football

Kaylise McClure, Mercy Field Hockey

Mackenzie Casey, Adelphi Volleyball

Michael Guarnieri, St. Anselm Football

Week 6

Andrew Surprenant, SNHU Men’s Golf

Isaiah Osgood, Bentley Football

Jessica Evans, Mercy Field Hockey

Sarah Henault, SCSU Volleyball

Sydney DeRoche, Bentley Women’s Soccer

Week 7

Faith Kosiba, Saint Michael’s Soccer

Grace Presswood, Assumption Volleyball

John Giller, SCSU Football

McKenzie Carey, Bentley Field Hockey

Ruby Harrington, Saint Michael’s Field Hockey

Week 8

Avery Frommer, Bentley Field Hockey

Billy Gould, Assumption Football

Kerrigan Habing, SCSU Volleyball

Maya Fisher, SCSU Cross Country

Quinlyn Moll, AIC Field Hockey

Week 9

Isaiah Decias, Bentley Football

Jessica Evans, Mercy Field Hockey

Milagros Zanatelli, AIC Field Hockey

Ryan Rosario, Franklin Pierce Women’s Soccer

Sasha Luzina, Bentley Volleyball

Week 10

Connor Smith, Assumption Football

Jake Croce, Saint Anselm Football

Madeline Chaapel, Adelphi Volleyball

Maggie Burchill, Saint Anselm Field Hockey

Riley Mastowski, Franklin Pierce Hockey

Week 11

Ana Carolina Westerich, Adelphi Volleyball

Dayshawn Walton, Adelphi Basketball

Taeya and Rheyna Steinauer, SCSU Basketball

Will Gomes, Franklin Pierce Football

Amelia Hohos, Saint Anselm Soccer

Week 12

Brady Gaudet, Franklin Pierce Soccer

Dom Santiago, Assumption Football

Elena Coban, Bentley Volleyball

Olivia Crespo, Franklin Pierce Soccer

Will Davies, Saint Anselm Basketball

Week 13

Alvaro Garcia, SNHU Soccer

Jojo Wallace, SNHU Basketball

Kaitlin McDonough, Saint Anselm Basketball

Margaret Montplaisir, Saint Michael’s Basketball

Zee McCown, Assumption Basketball

Week 14

Hope Fox, SCSU Basketball

Jodiann Ebanks, AIC Track and Field

Ruzgar Christina Boyle, AIC Basketball

Skyla Lang, Benltey Swimming

Valerii Pidhoretskyy, Adelphi Swimming

ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.

Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

Fans can subscribe via this link to follow NE10 NOW on FloSports this season.  The partnership between the NE10 and FloSports works to provide funds back to the athletic departments of the Northeast-10 Conference in support of student-athletes while promoting the league on a national platform.

Here are the 2025 Journal Star volleyball all-area honorees in alphabetical order, led by player of the year and separated by large-school players and small-school players.

Mia Lamberti, Limestone

Lamberti is the 2025 Journal Star player of the year, becoming the sixth repeat winner in the award’s 36-year history. She helped Class 3A top-ranked Limestone to a 34-3 record and a Mid-Illini Conference championship. The 6-foot junior setter/opposite hitter was named to four all-tournament teams this season, having over 1,000 career kills and assists. Lamberti, who committed to Illinois this past June, recorded 402 kills, 406 assists, 137 digs, 67 aces and 13 blocks. Her individual accolades include American Volleyball Coaches Association third-team all-American, AVCA all-region, Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association first-team all-state and all-Mid-Illini Conference first team.

HICKORY, N.C. – Averie Dale, Kayli Cleaver, and Hadley Prince have each been named to the AVCA Honorable Mention All-America Team. 

This marks the second consecutive All-America honor for Cleaver and Dale, while Prince is making her first appearance on the team. There have now been seven individuals in Lenoir-Rhyne volleyball history who have been named to an All-American team. 

Averie Dale tied the school record with a .399 hitting percentage this season, totaling 245 kills, 31 service aces, and 31 assists. She finished tied for first in the conference and first on the team with a total of 107 blocks, and added 82 digs. 

Kayli Cleaver was the Bears’ go to on the outside, leading the team with 363 kills on a .266 hitting percentage. She totaled double-digit kills in 20 of her 31 matches played and set a new career high with 23 kills in a four set victory at Newberry. 

Hadley Prince is this year’s South Atlantic Conference leader and ranks seventh all-time in Lenoir-Rhyne history with 547 digs. She had double-digit digs in every match this year and had a Lenoir-Rhyne career high of 32 on November 11th at Coker. Her 39 service aces led the team while her 115 assists were fourth. 

LAS VEGAS — Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers has been named the 36th recipient of the William V. Campbell Trophy® it was announced at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner presented by Las Vegas.

The Campbell Trophy^® ranks as one of college football’s most sought-after and competitive awards, recognizing an individual as the absolute best in the country for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. Awarded since 1990, the 24-inch, 25-pound bronze trophy comes with a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship. Stowers was selected from a list of 16 members of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments®.

The Denton, Texas, native becomes the first Campbell Trophy^® winner from Vanderbilt. He is the school’s fifth NFF National Scholar-Athlete, joining Wade Butcher (1961), Douglas Martin (1974), Andrew McCarroll (1989) and Hunter Hillenmeyer (2002).

Stowers received his undergraduate degree from New Mexico State in 2024, posting a 3.92 cumulative grade-point average, and he completed his master’s degree in finance from Vanderbilt in the spring. A member of the 2024-25 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll, he is currently pursuing a master’s of legal studies degree this fall.

During his time at Vanderbilt, Stowers has volunteered at the multiple events at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital and has supported the facility’s Dancing Dores fundraiser while also participating in Social Impact Day with the Pencil Foundation and Metro Nashville Public Schools and assisting at the department’s annual SAAC Holiday Party.

Elected a team captain prior to the start of this season, Stowers has contributed to the Commodores’ 10-2 regular season record with team highs of 62 catches for 769 yards while scoring four touchdowns. He leads all tight ends nationally in receiving yards and is second at the position in the country in receptions after hauling in multiple passes in every contest this season.

Stowers has led the Dores in catches a team-best six times and in receiving yards on four occasions, as he needs only six yards to record the most by a Vandy tight end since the 1996 campaign. He finished with a career-high 146 yards—the second most by a Power 4 tight end this season—on seven catches at No. 20/19 Texas, following up with a career-best 12 receptions for 122 yards in a Homecoming defeat of Auburn.

Stowers is a finalist for the John Mackey Award and is a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award and the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award too. He was a semifinalist for the 2025 Lombardi Award™ as well.

Following tonight’s NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas, Stowers will be recognized as the 2025 Campbell Trophy^® recipient at several other prestigious events. On Friday, Dec. 12, he will be recognized during The Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN. He will be featured on CBS during halftime of the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Dec. 31, and will be introduced on the field during the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Stowers and the Commodores will face Iowa—which was 23rd in the final College Football Playoff rankings—on Dec. 31 at 11 a.m. CT in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Purdue Fort Wayne Volleyball has lost one of their own after 2022 graduate Madi Wurster died in a car accident early Monday morning.

Wurster played volleyball at Purdue Fort Wayne from 2018 to 2022 and graduated from South Adams High School, where she played volleyball and basketball.

Steve Florio, Head Women’s Volleyball Coach at Purdue Fort Wayne, said that after receiving tragic news like this, everyone is still in shock.

“It almost didn’t seem real,” he said. “That’s the feedback I’m getting from a lot of our alumni, I’ve been talking with, obviously, very sad and heartbreaking.”

Florio says he has been talking with a lot of alumni since the accident, and says they describe her as “full of life”, a great hugger, a light to everyone, and so much more.

He says he wants to make sure that alumni and player voices were heard during a time like this, as they were some of the closest people to Madi.

“What they have to say about Madi is that she was a beautiful soul, and the world needed somebody like her,” he said. “She was always there for anybody who needed help. She loved all those around her. A lot of the alumni said she was a big light in this world, a great hugger, a great listener, too, and they’re all right about that.”

He adds that Wurster was very strong in her faith and had a tight friend group while at PFW. She had a really big laugh, and she loved to have a good time.

Florio says this has been a loss for the entire Mastodon family, and that this has brought many together to share stories about who Madi was and remember what she meant to all of them.

Her obituary can be found here.