Albany, NY– The Sage Colleges' department of athletics recently announced the recipients of the department's annual awards.  Named the 2019-2020 Sage men's volleyball Gator of the Year was senior captain Jarod Martel (Albany, NY/Colonie Central).

Head men's volleyball coach Rachel Martin noted, "Through his four years at Sage, Jarod has been dedicated to this program and school." Martin added, "He continued to grow and develop as a player and a leader on and off the court. Jarod had a tremendous senior year despite getting cut short with a personal best of 195 kills, 207.5 points, and 95 digs. He ended his career nationally ranked in the three categories."

A team captain at Sage in 2020, Martel was a starter in 22 matches this past season. He collected a personal-best for most kills (195), points (207.5), digs (95) and kills per set average in 2020 (2.6). Over the course of the season, he had 11 matches with double-digit points total, while adding 10 matches with double-digit kills. He capped his season ranking nationally in Division III in three categories. He was 109th in kills per set (2.6), 117th in attacks per set average (6.79), and 164th in points per set (2.77).

He was named to the 2020 Empire 8 Men's Volleyball All-Conference Honorable Mention Team and was also named to the 2020 Empire 8 Sportsman of the Year Team.

A four-year letterwinner in men's volleyball Martel, ranks eighth in career kills (472), ninth in attack attempts (1,222), and ninth in career points with 532.0 points at Sage. He also has 74 career total blocks with 18 aces and finishes seventh in career matches played with 103 appearances.