JOHNSTON NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR; STEVENS TABBED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AS MSU PLACES THREE ON ALL-NJAC TEAM

Montclair , NJ (11/9/07) – The Montclair State volleyball team, the 2007 NJAC Champions, were well-represented on the league's All-Conference team announced on Friday.

Freshman Devon Johnston (Moorestown, NJ / Moorestown) was named the Rookie of the Year while Meghan Stevens (Woodcliffe Lake, NJ / Pascack Hills) was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year. Montclair also placed three players on the 13-player squad as sophomore Kara Burnham (Moorestown, NJ /Moorestown) was named First-Team while classmates Raisa Siva (Newark, NJ/East Side) and Anna Chesnakova (East Brunswick, NJ / East Brunswick) were named Second Team.

Johnston's and Steven's selection marked the first time that Montclair has won one of the major awards since Jamie Apuna was named NJAC Player of the Year in 1999.

The four players were instrumental in helping the Red Hawks to the finest season in the history of the program as Montclair State finished 22-15, setting the school record for victories. MSU went 6-2 in NJAC play during regular season and then capped off an amazing run in the NJAC Tournament upsetting the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on the road to capture its first conference title since 1997. The NJAC title also put Montclair State into the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history.

Johnston was three-time NJAC Rookie of the Week selection during the year as she collected 359 kills finishing second on the team while also adding 60 service aces, 358 digs and 43 total blocks. Johnston ranked ninth in the NJAC in hitting percentage (.201), 10th in kills per game (2.83) and ninth in points per game (3.52).

Stevens led the league in digs per game at 4.72 as she posted 387 digs. She collected 15 or more digs 13 times this season, including eight matches of 20 or more and a season-high of 33 in the Red Hawks 3-2 loss to Richard Stockton on September 25. Stevens also added 36 service aces and had 10 assists in 82 games.

Burnham led Montclair State with 390 kills, the second-highest single-season total in Red Hawks history. Burnham ranked third in the NJAC in hitting percentage (.248) and also ranked sixth in kills per game (2.95), seventh in blocks (0.59) and eighth in points per game (3.77). In 132 games she had 39 service aces, 78 total blocks, including 47 solo, and contributed 97 digs.

Chesnakova picked up her second straight All-NJAC Second-Team honor after a season in which she collected 351 kills, and 125 blocks as she was second in the league in hitting percentage (.267) and third in blocks per game at 0.97 per contest.

Silva led the NJAC in assists as she broke her own single-season record with 1,300 this season averaging 10.74 per game. Silva also finished fourth on the team with 47 service aces and added 258 digs, which was the fourh-highest on the Red Hawks in 2007.