WATERVILLE, Me. (November 3, 2021) – SUNY Delhi got a significant and rewarding share of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) year-end awards for women's volleyball. The Broncos, who finished their first 20-win season since 2010, had two major award winners in Head Coach Beau Bracchy earning Coach of the Year and freshman libero Rebecca Heuler (Piermont, NY / Tappan Zee) honored with Defensive Player of the Year.

Heuler also picked up First Team honors alongside Witchney Clersainville (Spring Valley, NY / Spring Valley) and Grace Thomas (Owego, NY / Owego Free Academy). Stephanie Burke (West Winfield, NY / Mount Markham) landed Second Team accolades, while Lexi Taylor (Norwich, NY / Norwich) earned Honorable Mention. Bailee Jones (Binghamton, NY / Binghamton) was selected to the NAC Sportsmanship Team, reserved for those who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees have positively affected the sport culture and race environment by clearly demonstrating sportsmanship and integrity beyond playing rules and etiquette.

SUNY Delhi's 2021 season ended Sunday in the NAC Semifinals against SUNY Cobleskill, with its record standing at 21-6 after earning the top seed in the division tournament with an 8-0 regular season league record. Voted tied for first with SUNY Poly in the NAC West Preseason Poll, the Broncos posted a pair of three-set sweeps over NAC West foes Poly, SUNY Canton, and Cazenovia, then doing it a third time on the Caz Wildcats in Saturday's first-round tournament matchup. The green and gold defeated Cobleskill twice in four sets during the regular season before the Fighting Tigers avenged host Delhi in three Sunday. Delhi charted its third-highest season win total in program history and most in its modern NCAA Division III era. Only the 22-win 2009 season and the 28-victory 2010 program from the junior college era had more.

Heuler, a freshman defensive specialist, became the team's full-time libero from the fifth match onward, running away with the conference lead in digs with 426 total and 5.68 per set, including generating a season-high of 32 in three sets over Utica in the regular-season finale. She was second behind Thomas on the team in assists with 50 and service aces with 42. Heuler reached these numbers despite not competing in three contests. Her prowess twice earned her NAC Defender of the Week.

Thomas, the junior setter, took second across the entire NAC with 676 assists and 49 service aces, competing in all but one match her first year on the Broncos. She earned the NAC's Player of the Week back in mid-September and posted six matches with at least 30 assists, including a high of 36 in four sets at Worcester State on Sept. 25. Thomas also had a high of four aces twice against Keystone and Cazenovia, and even totaled ten kills in Delhi's five-set win at Sarah Lawrence for its first win of the season.

Clersainville, a senior middle hitter, ranked second in all the NAC with 53 total blocks (17 solo) and third with 0.58 blocks per set. She was third in the NAC with a .233 kill percentage on a team-second-best 157 kills, and took third on the Broncos with 192 points. Her final career numbers stand at 556 career kills on a .221 lifetime percentage. She leaped to 185 total blocks, including 72 solo, while totaling 94 digs and 34 assists. She reached ten kills on three occasions and as many as five blocks in one contest. Clersainville twice earned the NAC's Defender of the Week and was selected to the NAC All-Tournament Team. 

Burke ran away with the team lead in kills with 194, good for seventh in the NAC. She was fourth on Delhi with a .173 hitting percentage as one of the program's most targeted attackers with 591 attempts, trailing Jones by just three in that category. Burke tied for second on the team with 33 total blocks and fourth with 34 service aces. She was awarded Bronco of the Week when she produced 38 kills, .202 kill percentage, 13 service aces, 37 digs, and 53 total points to help the team go 5-0 in a one-week span.

Taylor was the only Bronco to play in every set this season, finishing tied with Burke with 33 total blocks. She produced steady numbers for the team with her steady swing, ranking second on Delhi with a .233 hitting percentage on 139 kills, good for fourth. Taylor committed just two attack errors in the Broncos' last five regular-season matches, drilling 30 kills in the process. She then followed with a season-best nine kills in their opening-round tournament sweep of Cazenovia. The Norwich, NY native added 94 digs and 14 service aces.