Albany, NY— The Sage Colleges' department of athletics gathered to recognize and honor the outstanding performances of the 2018-2019 year with the naming of the athletic award winners for the 17 varsity athletic teams. In addition to awarding the Gator Award, for the Most Outstanding Player, the department also named the 2018-2019 Female and Male Rookies of the Year as well as the 2018-2019 Female and Male Athletes of the Year.

Selected as the Gator of the Year in women's volleyball was rookie outside hitter Emma Parkington (Dalton, MA/Wahconah Regional). On the 2018 season, Parkington finished with a team-best 223.0 points on 174 kills with 23 aces and 47 blocks and 169 digs. She earned three selections as the Empire 8 Rookie of the Week in her first campaign at Sage.

Head women's volleyball coach and director of athletics, Sandy Augstein-Collins commented on Parkington, "The women's volleyball Gator of the Year award winner proved herself to be a very valuable teammate in her first season with Sage." Augstein-Collins continued, "She did absolutely everything that was asked of her while playing multiple positions throughout the season. She was named to the Empire 8 Sportswoman Team and earned three Rookie of the Week citations as well. She has a bright future as a Gator here at Sage!"

In addition to her award from Sage, Parkington was tapped for the 2018 Empire 8 Women's Volleyball Sportswoman Team. One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2018 Women's Volleyball Sportswoman of the Year Team. The Empire 8 Conference emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete's experience in conjunction with an institution's educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.