Troy, NY--The Sage Colleges’ department of athletics recently honored members of the varsity teams at the Athletic Awards Banquet.  

Freshman outside hitter Helen Putriment (Troy, NY/Cobleskill-Richmondville), a member of the women’s volleyball team at Sage was named the recipient of the 2011 Women’s Volleyball Gator Award as the team Most Valuable Player for her efforts on and off the volleyball court.  

Head women’s volleyball coach Sandy Augstein-Collins said of Putriment “Helen stepped into the Sage volleyball program and made an immediate impact with her presence, skill level, and her love of the game.” Augstein-Collins added, “Helen was second on the team in service aces and digs. She also led the team in two categories to lead the Gators on offense.”

Over the course of the season, she earned considerable acclaim for her play and performances this past season. She was named the 2011 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year after an outstanding first season and was also named to the Skyline Conference All-Star First Team.

Four times named the Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball Rookie of the Week this past season, Putriment led the 2011 Gators with 377 kills, 425.5 points and a .226 attack percentage. She also ranked amongst the conference leaders in kills per set (3.17, third) and digs per set (3.71, sixth).

Overall on the 2011 season, she turned in performances worthy of the Top Ten in single-season efforts as he 377 kills is fifth best and her 3.17 kills per set average is sixth best. Overall, she played in 119 sets with 444 digs, 38 aces and 18 blocks.

Sophomore setter Joanie Cooney (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa), a member of the women’s volleyball team at Sage was named the recipient of the 2011 Women’s Volleyball Coaches’  Award for her efforts on and off the volleyball court.  

Head women’s volleyball coach Sandy Augstein-Collins said of Cooney, “Joanie was our rookie of the year last season and has continued her excellent work this season, leading our team on and off the court.” Augstein-Collins added, “She is the kind of student-athlete coaches dream of having on their team.”

In her second season at Sage, she continued to dominate the setting assist statistic this fall. She led both Sage and the Skyline Conference with her 892 assists, while her per game average of 7.50 ranks third in the league.

She was a candidate for the Capital One-CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and is already No. 4 on Sage’s career list as she now has 1,451 in 65 career matches played. She added 74 kills and 266 digs in 2011 with 36 aces.

Freshman middle hitter Stacey Forte (Bay Shore, NY/Brentwood), a member of the women’s volleyball team at Sage was named the recipient of the 2011 Women’s Volleyball Rookie of the Year  Award for her efforts on and off the volleyball court.  

Head women’s volleyball coach Sandy Augstein-Collins said of Forte, “She had a fantastic first season and we look forward to more contributions from her during her career at Sage.”

A newcomer at Sage in the fall of 2011, she played in all 119 sets as well with 243 kills, 73 digs and a team-high 56 aces. She averaged 2.04 kills per set, which was second best on the squad and added an impressive .874 serving percentage as well.