NEVC Announces Athletes of the Week Nominees

Leominster, Mass. - The New England Volleyball Conference (NEVC) has announced its Athlete of the Week honorees for the week ending 2/15/26. The full list of honorees can be found below.

Athlete of the Week

Jake Laborde (Sr., OH), Endicott

Laborde guided Endicott to a 4-0 week (2-0 road/2-0 neutral), as the Gulls earned victories over Rivier (3-0), Trine (3-2), Nazareth (3-1), and No. 17 Thiel (3-1).

The senior outside hitter played in all 16 sets, compiling 52 kills (3.25 K/S), a .227 hitting percentage, four service aces, 62 receptions on 64 attempts (.969), 19 digs (1.19 D/S), eight blocks (2 solo, 6 assisted), and 61 points (3.8 PTS/S).

Laborde also had 10 or more kills in three of the four matches on the week. 

He saved his best match for last, as Laborde posted his first double-double of the season against No. 17 Thiel via a season-high/match-high 19 kills and 10 digs. 

Against Trine, Laborde ripped home the match-winning kill, giving the Gulls their first of three straight come-from-behind wins in Rochester, New York, this past weekend.

Rookie of the Week

Ethan Norris (Fr., OH), Endicott

In a 4-0 week, Norris helped the Gulls defeat Rivier (3-0), Trine (3-2), Nazareth (3-1), and No. 17 Thiel (3-1) by filling the stat sheet with 21 kills (1.31 K/S), a .164 hitting percentage, 63 assists (3.94 A/S), three service aces, 18 receptions on 20 attempts (.900), 27 digs (1.69 D/S), 13 block assists (0.81 B/S), and 30.5 points (1.9 PTS/S).

Norris posted several career-best numbers throughout the week, including 11 digs versus Trine, five block assists against Trine and Nazareth, and 26 assists versus No. 17 Thiel.

About the NEVC

The NEVC is a NCAA Division III single-sport conference sponsoring the sport of men’s volleyball. The conference is comprised of seven institutions, Bard College, Endicott College, Nichols College, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, SUNY Potsdam, Russell Sage College and Vermont State University – Johnson.