Albany, NY – The Sage College’s department of athletics gathered to recognize and honor the outstanding performances of the 2016-2017 year with the naming of the athletic award winners for the 15 varsity athletic teams. Sage saluted the Gator Award recipients in each sport and earning the honor in women’s volleyball was senior setter Rachel Liebig (Hartford, NY/Hartford).
Sage, which finished the season with a record of 17-18 and was a semifinalist in the 2016 Skyline Conference Women's Volleyball Tournament after producing an 8-3 mark in Skyline play this past fall under the guidance of veteran head coach Sandy Augstein-Collins.
Augstein-Collins said of Liebig, “Our Gator award this year went to one of the most outstanding young women I have ever had the opportunity to coach.” She continued, “Rachel has impressed me with everything that she has done from the minute she arrived on campus four years ago. Academics, athletics, life, family, -- this young lady is the total package! She has won numerous all-tournament honors, Skyline player of the week citations, Skyline Conference all-star honors and finished her career ranking second all-time at Sage in setting assists with over 3,300 setting assists.”
Liebig, who was 2015 and 2016 Skyline Conference All-Star First Team pick, finished the year with her team-leading 957 setting assists, which ranked sixth best in school single-season records. On her career, she finished as the No. 2 all-time setting assist leader with her 3,332 setting assists, while also adding 203 aces, which stands fourth highest as well. She also connected for 613 digs in her 131 matches played at Sage. Liebig finished the season ranked 87th in total assists (957), while standing 180th in assists per set average (7.6). She was also honored in 2016 as the Skyline Conference Women’s Volleyball Sportsmanship Award recipient.
As a team, Sage ranked nationally in 15 different categories. The Gators were ranked 31st nationally with 277 team service aces, while also ranking 93rd nationally in aces per set average (2.2) as well as No. 125 in team digs (1,861).
