EDISON, NJ -  The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced its 2018 volleyball postseason awards on Saturday evening. The Iona College volleyball program has three major award winners and three student-athletes honored on the All-MAAC Teams.

Senior Claire Archibald is the unanimous MAAC Player of the Year. Senior Emma Rose is the unanimous MAAC Setter of the Year. Both are members of the All-MAAC First Team. Sophomore Jamie Smith, the reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year, is on the All-MAAC Second Team. Third year head coach Patric Santiago, who led the Maroon & Gold to their first ever outright MAAC Regular Season Title, is the MAAC Coach of the Year.

Also part of the awards banquet was the announcement of the 2018 All-MAAC Championship Team. Rose and Archibald were both named as honorees. They are joined by the 2018 MAAC Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player, senior Mia Bonsignore.

CLAIRE ARCHIBALD

Archibald caps off a historic career by being Iona's first MAAC Player of the Year since Miki Hogg in 2004. This season the Coto de Caza, CA native averaged a career-best 3.88 kills, 3.58 digs and 4.28 points per set. Archibald also had a .240 attack percentage, surpassing her previous personal-best .190 percentage as a freshman.

Entering the MAAC Championship, Archibald ranked first in the league in kills per set.

Archibald has four 20+ kill matches this season and in two of which she recorded a season-best 23. On Sept. 29 against Canisius, she had a season-high 24 points. Against Rider on Oct. 3 in a five set marathon, she had 23 kills along with a career-high 35 digs.

As of Friday, Nov. 16, Archibald ranks second all-time in Iona history in kills (1549), second in kills per set (3.42), first in attack attempts (4309), seventh in service aces (148), second in points (1745.5) and seventh in digs (1328).
Archibald was also named to the All-MAAC Championship team.

EMMA ROSE

Rose is capping off a senior campaign averaging career-bests in digs, aces, points and assists per set. On Oct. 27 against Niagara, Rose became Iona's all-time program leader in assists during the rally scoring era. She entered the 2018 MAAC Championship with 3,145 career assists.

As of Friday, Nov. 16, Rose's 11.66 assists per set average ranked first in the MAAC and 10^th in the NCAA. She has 33 aces on the season, and her 0.35 service ace per set ranks sixth in the league.

On Sept. 29 she set a new career-high with 58 assists in a defeat of the Golden Griffins. It is tied for the 10^th most all-time in a single-match. On Oct. 1 against Rider, Rose recorded a personal best 19 digs.

Rose was named All-MAAC Championship team for a second straight season. This is her first major award. Rose is the first Gael to be named the Setter of the Year since Beth Holly was named the Co-Setter of the Year in 2005.

JAMIE SMITH

Smith finished the 2018 regular season averaging 2.74 kills, 1.54 digs and 0.54 assists per set. She entered the MAAC Championship with a .193 hitting percentage and 275.5 points scored. Her kills per set and points per set both rank 10^th in the MAAC

The Massapequa, NY native had a banner day against Rider on Oct. 3. She recorded a season-best 19 kills, 20 points, 16 digs and seven total blocks. Her season-high 11 assists came against Saint Francis (PA) on Aug. 25 and she has recorded one ace in six separate games this season.

Smith's All-MAAC Second Team distinction builds upon her Iona resume which already includes six Rookie of the Week recognitions, culminating in 2017's MAAC Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team honorees.

PATRIC SANTIAGO

Santiago is in his third season at the helm of the Maroon & Gold. This season he led the Gaels to the 2018 MAAC Championship and a 20-7, 16-2 MAAC regular season record. It is just Iona's third season winning at least 20 games and it's the program's first ever outright MAAC Regular Season Championship.

Iona's 16 league season victories are the most in program history, surpassing the previous mark of 13 set in 2013. The Maroon & Gold's 20 wins is its most since 2010 when the Maroon & Gold ended the campaign at 20-11. 

As a team, the Gaels rank 11^th in the NCAA with 14.15 assists per set. The program also ranks 16^th in kills per set with a 14.15 team average. The Gaels ranks top-50 in team attacks per set (37.60), opponent hitting percentage (0.162), and aces per set (1.53).

Coach Santiago has coached two All-MAAC First Team Players in Rose ('18) and Archibald ('17, '18). His leadership has also propelled Smith, who was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2017, to an All-MAAC Second Team distinction in 2018. Between Smith last year and this season's two major award winners, Santiago has coached three MAAC individual award winners.

The Gaels have thrived in the classroom over the past three seasons. This year the Maroon & Gold had its first three student-athletes ever named to the CoSIDA Northeast District All-Academic Team. Archibald, Rose and Smith are all eligible for the CoSIDA All-America Team.

Santiago is Iona's first MAAC Coach of the Year since Bob Weiner in 2002.